Demon Sorceress of Fire
by Mengskhunter
Summary: There was a reason that the demons were banished instead of slain. There is an ancient law of magic, all but unknown to modern mortals, that imparts the very essence of the demon to their killer. When Jade destroyed Shendu she earned his former title.
1. Prelude

_Disclaimer__: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures, it is the property of the respective owners. I'm just playing with their property._

It was a cold day in February, the wind blowing in a way that cut through layers of clothing and raised the hair in goose bumps. Jade had arrived courtesy of Dark Hand Air, hiding out in the aircraft's cargo area after following the thugs from their respective breakouts of Section 13. Not wanting to get caught when she was so close, she chose to go in a direction that would take her to a good view along the walls. The place looked like a feudal lord's castle, well preserved, without all the moss, vines, and other pieces of plant life, like something out of a story book; it was nothing like any of the places she'd traveled to with Jackie. Those ruins had a sense of history, as if time had its way and slowly broke them down like a man wracked with old age. This was more like meeting a renaissance actor while going to buy some groceries from the local grocery store. Still, if traveling with Jackie had taught Jade anything about the world, it didn't matter if they were up against an international crime ring with the latest tech, or a dragon with magic shadow ninja – when it comes down to a fight, always bet on Jackie.

Jade heard a lot of noise coming from the courtyard; going to the top of the wall she realized she might have to amend that opinion against a twenty-foot dragon with twelve magic talismans. Jackie was running at a wall full speed, running up it as a too fast giant monster crashed head first in to it. Jackie got enough altitude, and springing off the wall onto Shendu's back, he pushed his hands down on it. The green glow was hidden for a second, as if Jackie's hands had been buried in that scaly flesh; jumping back on the ground and rolling up to his feet, Jackie looked at his hand before pointing the talisman at Shendu. A blue ray came out of his hand to turn the fierce dragon in to an ugly green bunny. Jade marveled at what she had just seen – Jackie had found some way to get the Talismans out of Shendu, and with the Monkey Talisman had turned Shendu into a far less formidable threat.

But just because Jackie had pulled out one didn't mean the fight was over. Shendu still had many more talismans, which he was quick to use as the rabbit's eyes lit up and yellow beams shot out – heat rays from the Pig Talisman, which Jackie narrowly avoided thanks to his quick moves. A section of wall gave a stark example to how dangerous this rabbit still was, as it was blown away; Jade was glad that she hadn't been over there. The rabbit turned invisible from the Snake Talisman and Jackie looked around frantically, readying himself for an attack, but he was not expecting the Monkey Talisman that he had used to transform Shendu into a bunny to be so quickly pulled from his hands. Looking on impotently, Jackie watched as the monkey talisman floated up in to the air to be caught in Shendu's mouth.

"It's the Chinese Zodiac hit parade," Jade said to herself.

With a flash of light, Shendu had returned to his true form. Letting out a great roar, he pointed the talisman at Jackie and bellowed, "Monkey see, Monkey do!"

Jackie jumped forward and to the side, causing the ray to miss him and hit the stone statue on the wall behind him, which was changed from an odd statue of a man with a mane and tail to a monkey with a handlebar mustache. Keeping the momentum of his jump, he tumbled through the air and along the ground between Shendu's legs, his hand shooting out and passing through the demon's knee. Feeling it would be better for her to be closer to the action where she might be able to help, Jade sprinted along the wall until she came to a set of steps that went down to the courtyard. Keeping her eyes on the action, she watched as Shendu let out another set of beams from his eyes, only for Jackie to make an impossibly high jump into the air and corkscrew his body to redirect his momentum to kick Shendu in the chest. The dragon tipped over and hit the ground hard, his scales scrapping against the ground, lifting up dust in the air as his body slid across the ground. Jackie landed on his feet though dropped to one knee.

Jade decided to get his attention, "The strength talisman. Good one Jackie."

Jackie smiled and gave a small nod. "I know Jade – wahh! ? Jade, how did you…?"

Jade could hear the confusion in Jackie's voice, but after all they'd been through, he really should have seen this coming – Jade wasn't one to be left out when she could help it. Instead, she focused on Jackie's glowing green hands, which looked like they'd been covered in glow in the dark paint. Pointing at the hand, Jade exclaimed, "Your hands, I get it; that must be some kind of Uncle Magic that…"

Jade wouldn't be able to finish that statement as Shendu's massive hand grabbed Jackie and lifted him into the air, with a speed that implied he was using the Rabbit Talisman still.

"Ugh, talk later," Jackie said as he was lifted up and away.

Holding tightly to the Ox Talisman, Jackie called on its power and broke Shendu's grip, but as he started falling to the ground, the demon closed its fist again and snagged Jackie's arm. Jackie tried to strike the arm and break free, but Shendu was quicker and Jackie's other arm was captured, leaving them squaring off against each other like two sumo wrestlers in a match.

"The playing field is almost even Shendu," Jackie taunted, trying to move the dragon.

"You may have the Ox, but relative to me, all that makes you is a very strong mouse," Shendu pulled Jackie's arms down to his side and Shendu let his claws slide down around Jackie's legs, before lifting him off the ground and shaking him so all the talismans that Jackie had acquired during the fight fell to the ground, along with a bottle containing a green glowing liquid. Shendu's entire focus was on Jackie, as he moved purposefully towards the portal in the center of the courtyard, an ominous ring of fire with large monstrous heads emerging, snapping at the air. Jackie struggled to break free, but the demon's strength was too much for him to overcome.

"No, mom and dad, all of Asia is counting on you," Jade watched in fear as the only hope of victory was led towards his doom. Suddenly, the bottle bounced against the ground but did not break, and rolled up to Jade's feet; picking up the bottle she had a realization, "And me."

Pouring the remaining potion on her hands, and hoping it didn't call for anything more than that, she sprinted after Shendu even as he raised Jackie up as an offering to the glowing portal in the sky. Jade picked up the fallen talismans as she ran as hard as she could to reach Jackie in time.

"Pity you will not live to see my reign over your world, but you shall be the first to visit theirs."

Jade couldn't stand it anymore, and activating the strength talisman, she launched herself through the air, letting out a mighty cry, drowning out Shendu's mocking laughter, Jade's small frame easily closing the distance to land on the back of the dragon. Her hands pierced the hard scales as if they were non-existent, a ring of concentrated light around her wrists where the coating of the potion didn't cover stopped hard. Shendu let out a roar of pain and dropped Jackie to try and pull the offending human off him. Feeling like her hands were in thick jell-o, Jade tried to grab hold of something and something seemed to flow into her grasp. Holding tight, Jade pulled out the talisman, and yelling out to Jackie as she jumped away, narrowly avoiding a deadly back scratch, "Little Jade Horner pulls out a Dog."

As Shendu looked after her, Jackie took advantage of his distraction to jump on the demon's chest and pull out one more talisman, "Rat!"

Jumping clear himself, Shendu screamed again, "No!"

His body began hardening and his arms and legs retracted into his body as it lost its humanoid shape to become serpentine. Powerful coils that looked like they could wrap around and crush a Hummer looped around behind Shendu's stone visage to form an artistic disk exactly like the one Jackie had seen hanging on Valmont's wall only a few days ago, the remaining talismans now easily visible and residing in slots along the outer edge of the statue. The two let out a sigh of relief as the portal to the dragon's realm closed, despite the protests of the dragons on the other side. Letting out a roar in echo of their master, the gate closed on them without a sign it had ever existed previously.

Jade was glad that it was all over, but then the statue surprised her by showing it still had the ability to speak.

"I will not let this be the end of it!" Shendu snarled, "Even if it takes another 900 years, I will rise again and devour your descendants!"

Jade knew that the demon was likely to keep that promise, but there was nothing she could do about the future. The only thing she could change was what she did right now. Jade's hand went in her pocket and gripped a talisman. After everything this stupid demon had done, almost killing Jackie in front of her and endangering her parents, now he threatened her future. Well, Jade was done playing with this thing. Jade felt the talisman grip her back, and she knew without even looking that she had control of the Dragon Talisman now.

"Pssh. No Rat means you're just a statue, and no Dog means you're not immortal," Jade said as she focused her rage into the talisman and at the impotent statue. Shendu gave one last futile cry before the blast struck the statue and shattered it into rubble that flew in every direction.

Jade exalted in her victory and raised her hands in triumph when a feeling of weakness settled over her, "Woah, I think I've been up too long."

"Jade…!" Jackie's voice echoed.

It was so hard to keep her eyes open.

"We need to get out of here now."

Jade could hear some kind of rumbling noise; it was kind of upsetting, but maybe it would all be okay when she woke up. Jade felt like she was falling when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her.

"Bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day, bad day…"

Everything felt so comfortable being held in those arms. It couldn't possibly be bad.

When Jade opened her eyes again, she was in her room above Uncle's shop. Though it looked cleaner then Jade remembered leaving it last. Jade looked at the doll of Wonder Moose sitting on her dresser and studied it closely, trying to figure out if there was something different, but unable to place her finger on it. Unable to give the idea up, Jade threw the moose onto her bed and headed down the stairs. Jade wondered where Jackie and Uncle were when the building shook from an earthquake. It wasn't even the worst one Jade had experienced but for some reason the fact that not a single stack of books fell over, a precariously perched vase across the room with a design of bamboo shoots didn't rock, and the overhead lights didn't let down a fall of dust reinforced her sense that something was wrong.

"Jackie? Uncle?"

With no sign of her guardians, Jade went back upstairs and turned on an old TV; the picture was distorted with lines of static, and the sound was off. Jade fiddled with the volume but nothing was solving that problem; maybe a speaker had blown since the last time she had watched. Jade would blame it on Uncle, except he spent so much of his time with the antiques and his books that Jade couldn't remember a time he ever sat in front of the TV with Jackie and her.

Moving the antenna did clear up the picture a little bit, so the broad bars of static had been minimized to thin lines and Jade could tell what she was watching. It appeared to be some movie she had never seen before. A dragon, humanoid like Shendu had been, was creeping through craggy terrain, keeping low and always within the depressions of the ground. It proved a wise decision as everything outside of a crevasse was covered by a giant firestorm that raced across the ground and filled the whole screen so that Jade thought the dragon would not escape unscathed, but it only blackened the ground with another layer of soot.

The dragon looked discouraged and like he might turn back, but shaking his head, the mythical creature climbed out of its hole and ran across the hard ground until he came across a large pit with lava boiling and spewing. The dragon looked with distaste as another lizard, looking like a massive iguana, emerged from the lava, a path of flames burning along its spine. The dragon attempted to take cover and hide, but it was too late for that and the lizard called the other out. The two began to converse, the lizard frequently laughing at the dragon until it heard something it didn't want to hear. It now appeared angry and, placing its mouth in the lava, it scooped it up and spat at the dragon. Jade wondered who she was supposed to root for as the battle begun. Maybe this was like a fight between Godzilla and King Kong – either way, the humans were the victims.

The dragon had been expecting that move and, throwing out his hand, the lava lost its heat, turning to stone even as flames were pulled out and compacted into a glowing lance of flame. The iguana attempted to dive into the lava but the lance pierced the ground in front of it and caused it to step back. The dragon leapt in to the air without wings and instead of falling to the ground he defied common wisdom and flew before coming down like a stone next to the still burning lance. Making as if to grab it and lift, the lance pulled out of the ground and aimed again at the lizard. The iguana seemed incredulous and panicked, but the dragon wouldn't hear of it. The lance shot forward again and this time pierced the iguana in the chest. The beast let out a gasp as the flames along its back went out and blood poured from its mouth. Coughing, it tried to pull the weapon out but the effort was in vain. Dying, it rushed at the dragon and tried to pierce the dragon with the other end of the deadly weapon, but he was too agile. The iguana fell to the ground; the dragon removed the lance with his magic and tossed it off into the distance. The dragon watched with interest as a giant pillar of flame rose high in to the air from the spot where the lance landed.

The dragon raised its arms into the air, blasts of flame erupting from his hands.

It was so bright that Jade had to turn her head away from the glare, and when she turned back, the screen was covered in static. She wondered if she had lost the signal and was about to change the channel, when she heard a familiar voice, "Uncle, something is wrong with Jade – ow!"

The sound seemed to be coming from a door in the back. Jade didn't remember a door being there. It was a brilliant shade of red that caused her to look at it long and hard. That was what was different when she woke up – everything had been black and white and shades of grey, and it wasn't right. Maybe she was in some sort of dream. Had that door even existed before Jackie had said anything? The longer Jade stood there, the more the color of the door began to fade.

"You destroyed the demon! Nobody told you to destroy the demon!"

Jade watched with interest as the frame around the door turned a vibrant green and the door regained its former sheen. Feeling she had nothing to lose, Jade opened the door. A bright light was shining on the other side, and everywhere the light touched the grey of the room turned to a natural color.

Jade opened her eyes, not realizing she had ever closed them, and found she was standing on the hill overlooking Shendu's palace. Blinking in confusion, she looked around and saw Uncle raving, "Yin and Yang are out of balance! This will make way for a new evil to take Shendu's place!"

Jade and Jackie's eyes met and they both smiled to see the other one was alright.

Looking back at the palace, Jade saw that portions of it had collapsed, a tower and a couple of sections of the walls, but on the whole it looked to be mostly intact. It just looked like it was properly showing its age.

The moment of shared contentment was gone when she turned back to look at Jackie and saw that he looked very troubled, "Jade, I know this is hard but I think it's time you returned to your parents."

Jade's good feelings over the victory evaporated like smoke, "Jackie, then I wouldn't get to go on adventures with you anymore."

"Would that really be such a bad thing?"

Jade had known this day might come; her parents had sent her to be with Jackie for only a year, but that was still a few months away. She thought she'd have a little more time, but here they all were in Hong Kong – she could be reunited with her parents in an hour's time, but everything that she had done with Jackie had been so cool. She had just helped save all of Asia and now he wanted her to go back to the boring life with her judgmental parents. She knew they cared for her and wanted what was best for her, but going back to that made her feel really sad.

Wrapping her arms around herself to hold back a chill that had nothing to do with the wind, Jade bowed her head, "For you."

Jade hoped Jackie would change his mind but he turned away from her and picked up Captain Black, who was lying down on the ground for some reason. Without her notice, Uncle rested his hand on her head. Jade looked up at the frail old man and saw his face was especially still.

"Jackie is a fool, trying to protect you."

"Uncle, couldn't you convince him to let me stay just a little longer?"

"Jade, you have talent for finding trouble and finding Jackie. Now come, let's get you back to your family."

The ride to the apartment building her parents lived at was a somber affair. They traveled by taxi, all sitting in the backseat, rubbing elbows while the sound of the latest pop band blasted over the radio. Jade began to notice familiar sites as they drew closer; there was the school she used to go to, there was that park where her mom had said that fields might be for running but she had to always stay in her sight. There was the restaurant where they burnt the rice and her dad had demanded a refund. It was all familiar and depressing. Letting out a sigh, she thought Jackie might try to cheer her up but he seemed to be committed to making this decision. Uncle wasn't going to help either. It was so unfair.

Taking the elevator to the twelfth floor, Jackie went to knock on the door and Jade grabbed at his arm, "Come on, Jackie. If we leave now, we can catch the flight back with Captain Black together."

Jackie shook his head, "I can't, Jade."

The door opened wide to reveal Jade's mother, "Cousin Jackie. What are you doing here? Are you visiting for the New Year celebration?"

"Yes, we were in the area for my work, and I thought it would be good to meet with you. It has been a long time since you've been able to see Jade after all."

"Oh yes," Jade's father nodded happily, "We get the letters and really enjoy Jade's calls every month. She tells such fantastic stories – I think she could grow up to be a fine writer some day. I think you've been a great role model for her and we really can't thank you enough for doing this."

"Yes, about that. She is doing so well that I think it would be better if you were to allow Jade to come back to live with you."

Jade could tell her parents knew something was up. It was short notice and out of the blue – they would have to question why Jackie would do such a thing.

"Is something the matter Cousin Jackie? I know the schools in America last for another couple months; wouldn't it be unwise to pull her out before the year is finished?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. My work has gotten very busy and Uncle is unable to keep up with Jade. I just think it would be best to return Jade to you. Ow!"

Jackie rubbed his forehead where Uncle had struck him with his two fingers, "Ai-yah! You think you can talk down Uncle's raising skills! I can take care of Jade!"

Jackie gave that look, the one that said "I'm just a normal man feeling so overwhelmed". Jade hated that look.

"Very well," Jade's father said, "We will not pressure you into saying more then you are able."

"I promise you Jade, I'll have your stuff sent back to you as soon as possible."

Jade wasn't going to say anything more, otherwise she thought she might start crying. She hugged Uncle goodbye and ran into her old room and locked herself in. Jade could faintly hear Jackie outside making excuses for her. This wasn't the way it should be. Jade knew her parents would probably be worried, wonder what had happened for such an early return to be necessary, but she didn't care about that.

Putting her pillow over her head, she drifted off to sleep.

Jade looked around at the desolate landscape, floating rocks in a blood-red sky fading to brown, a great abyss going down forever below her. Jade wondered where she was. Off in the distance, two floating islands the size of mountains crashed into each other before going off in different courses, the fragments broken off sharing the unnatural ability to float, marking the spot.

Nothing else was happening and Jade thought this was one of the most boring dreams she'd ever had. A grey speck in the distance caught her attention after what felt like hours. Whatever it was, it was getting closer and quickly.

Grey skin and red eyes with thick bushy eyebrows and three spikes coming out of its head, it had wings like a bat and black-clawed hands and feet. Its forearms were bulging with muscle, while everything from the shoulder to the elbow was thin. Its mouth was spread in a too wide grin, fangs showing, and it stroked its small beard, its long pointed ears shifting in concentration. Jade bet it could hear a pin drop.

"Hello Shendu. It's been a while."

Jade woke up in a sweat. "What was that?"


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer__: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures; it is the property of the respective owners. I assume Jackie Chan (the character) is the property of Jackie Chan (the actor)._

After three days, Jade was done hiding out in her room. It was upsetting her parents to see her behaving this way, and no matter what Jade wanted to think, it wasn't helping with the nightmares. Calling them nightmares would be giving them too much importance; for the most part, she had kept on appearing in that deserted wasteland where everything slowly drifted and then she'd blink and things would have moved far away or she would be standing on a different rock, something she could only tell when her new place of rest suddenly changed in diameter or an unexpected appearance of an outcropping. Jade found the place unsettling and chaotic.

Honestly Jade thought it was no big deal and chalked it up to some weird food she ate, half remembered stories from when she was little, and/or having fought and killed a real life demon was making her see this desolate land. Just a bad dream from bad memories.

Everything felt too real though, and when Jade saw the enormous green monster, hair and teeth like rock, on her fifth night, she was sure that this was no nightmare – this was something even worse. Jade had wanted to hide, cowering behind a rock in hopes that whatever it was wouldn't spot her. It was the biggest creature that Jade had ever seen, but after she had thought she was going to be found she had blinked and the monster was gone as quickly as it had come, even if her fear still remained.

Jade saw a new monster every other day for the next week – they moved through the area she occupied, some with purpose from one end of the horizon to the other, while others drifted by. Jade avoided them all, as they looked distinctly unfriendly, and the first demon she had seen began appearing repeatedly. Jade had decided to stare back at him, since he looked the least threatening, in the way a pistol looks less dangerous than a bomb with ten seconds left on the counter.

After two and a half weeks, Jade was tired of standing in the same spot, was and hoping she'd find the reason why she was showing up in this world if she did a little investigating. Testing the ground, she saw another stone was floating past her pretty close. The gap was only a few feet and three feet higher in elevation, which was nothing compared to some of the things she'd done with Jackie. Jumping with all her might, she was surprised as she flew high in to the air like she was holding the Rooster talisman and the unstable ground beneath became so much smaller in her view. Despite this odd turn of events, she wasn't magically flying and her ascent slowed down and she began her descent. Jade was afraid that she had overshot her original target and taking a close look she had definitely done that. Luckily, even further away there was another cluster of rocks and Jade managed to land on one of those, a large rock with several outcroppings on it, different from the other stones she had seen. The distance had been long and she'd fallen far from the apex of her jump, but hitting that stone didn't hurt anymore then if she had rolled off her bed.

Jade began exploring, but before she could turn past the first corner she was face to face with the bat like monster that had called her Shendu during her first visit. The creature looked down on her as Jade tried to backpedal away and ended up falling on her butt.

"Ow."

The monster was unperturbed by Jade's sudden appearance and bent in closely, sniffing the air experimentally.

"Little girl, going in places she doesn't belong. Her nature a mystery, her power familiar but it only raises questions," he reached forward to grab her with a clawed hand, but stopped inches away, "Are you going to vanish on me now?"

"Vanish?" Jade looked at the creature, "Uh, yeah, I'll vanish if you try to do anything to me. Now tell me where I am, and who you are, and who those others are."

"Little girl is making demands, hmm. Alright, it won't hurt to tell you but it might hurt to hear, so how about a trade – I will provide you with a question and if you provide an answer I will do so as well. Fair?"

"It's a deal, now what are you?"

"I am Hsi Wu, Demon Sorcerer of the Sky."

"A demon like Shendu?" Jade asked, slowly getting to her feet.

The demon grinned, "You already had your question so tell me what you are?"

"Jade Chan, a human girl," Jade's answer made the demon give her a hard look. But if he wanted to contest her answer he let it be for now, "Where are we?"

"We are in a prison; dangerous 'villains' like the Demon Sorcerers can't be allowed to roam free, now can we? That doesn't explain why you are here, tell me that."

"I don't know; I was hoping you could tell me."

Hsi Wu stepped closer to her, and Jade found her back to the wall.

"You can't answer? Well, I should really call this game over, but if you can answer this question we can keep on going. You smell like Shendu, but it is weak. What is your connection to my brother?"

That gave Jade pause, but there was no way to tell if what she was about to say would draw the demon's rage or his approval, "I killed that creepy critter with the Dragon talisman."

"Shendu killed by little Jade with his own magic? His brothers and sisters wondered what our cowardly brother was doing to avoid imprisonment in this realm. The worm must have spent it cowering in the shadows. When did you start appearing in this realm?"

"The night I killed him I found myself in this place when I went to sleep and ran into you. You know why I'm showing up here, don't you? Tell me why."

His Wu turned his back to Jade and began pacing, "Time is so hard to guess at when you're in a world without night and day. Your appearance would be the first thing I would have to tell time in an eternity. You come here to this realm and flicker like the weak flame of a candle. The reason for this is Bai Tza's power has produced a miracle, drawing the weakened spirit of Shendu to this place that we might torture him for as long as we are imprisoned. The idea was foolish and doomed to failure, as Shendu's cursed Talismans would protect him and prevent him from ever being weak enough to be our prisoner. Immortality, Astral Projection, Regeneration – any one of those should have been enough to protect him from our grasp, but you killed him. Now you will be drawn here every night by Bai Tza's curse until she releases you.

"Little Jade is forced to bear such an unfortunate fate, to become Shendu's host or his replacement with no means of escape from that fate. Do you know why we were imprisoned by the Immortals and were not killed as you did to Shendu? No? So unprepared… it's amazing. It's because the power we hold as Demon Sorcerers is an ancient power, existing since the foundation of the world. If we were killed by the holy, our power would linger on the land like a curse until one worthy of the power came to retrieve it. Without the protections granted by those practitioners of Good magic, our murderer or one touched by our power would become the new host for the Demon Sorcerer's legacy.

"At first I mistook you for Shendu's child, now I know you are his successor.

"Trapped in this prison, we waited for our brother to recall his duty and do what none us could with all our mighty powers and free us. The brother is now dead, and fate has given us a new sister to take his place. Will she become our brother, or will she become something new, weak but different, enough to avoid her own imprisonment and death?"

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You're telling me I'm going to turn into a demon?"

Hsi Wu stopped pacing, though his breath was short from his suppressed emotions, "The process has already begun; like I said before, I can smell him in you."

"But there has to be some way to stop it, to make it so I don't become a demon and hurt my family."

Hsi Wu grinned, showing off a fang filled mouth that if it was meant to put Jade at ease was doing the exact opposite, "There might be a way. It was Shendu's duty as the only one free to release his brothers and sisters from imprisonment – if you take on this duty, then we will teach you how to strengthen your mind and magic, so that it is you that becomes the Demon Sorcerer of Fire and not Shendu. Will you free us willingly?"

Jade knew that this was an important decision – did she dare try and save herself by dooming the rest of the world? Wouldn't it be better if she just died? Hsi Wu had already said that someone else would become the Demon Sorcerer of Fire. She would not save anyone that way; her only hope was to talk to Uncle.

"I killed Shendu because he threatened Asia, my family, and me. What could possibly make you think I would free more demons? I have an uncle who knows good magic, I'll go to him and he'll tell me how to get back to normal."

"Do that, Jade, and before the year is done I will meet you in this realm in the flesh as your uncle imprisons you with the rest of us. Think hard on my words, consider the consequences should you not heed them. Also, I do not believe you vanish on purpose," Hsi Wu's fist was wreathed in an orange flame, and fast as a snake the demon struck Jade in the arm and knocked her through the air and off the platform. Jade cried out in pain as her voice was carried away with the wind. Shutting her eyes, she screamed for help and felt strong arms wrap around her, crushing her.

Jade tried to flail her arms to hit the one imprisoning her and her fist made a satisfactory sound as it felt like she'd just hit someone in the jaw. The grip loosened and Jade felt herself in free fall when she heard someone whispering in her ear, "It's okay Jade. It's just a bad dream. It's alright. Please wake up."

Jade felt ice water in her veins and gasped as the sensation of falling was gone and replaced with the hardness of her bed against her back. The whipping winds became the gentle hum of her air conditioner and the overhead fan. The voice whispering in to her ear was her mother's and the jaw she had knocked was her father standing farther back. Jade's heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute and she had to take some deep breaths to calm down.

Everyone in the room was breathing heavily and Jade was the first one to break the silence among them, "I'm so sorry for hitting you dad. I didn't realize it was you holding on to me."

"I'll try to keep that in mind next time I hear you screaming in the next room over. I've tried to be sensitive to your feelings Jade, but this is the last straw. It's been two weeks since you came home and you have been behaving oddly. At first I just wanted to put it to the side because you've always been so childish, but enough is enough. I want you to tell me exactly what happened with Cousin Jackie and why he left you here so suddenly, now."

"I can't tell you that, it's top secret and it could lead to you being in trouble as well. Plus, there's no way you would believe it even if I told you."

Dad sputtered while Mom ceased her consolations to ask, "Jade, what makes you think that?"

Jade hugged her Mom as tightly as she could. "I've been telling you everything that been happening to me since I got to San Francisco and the things you thought were stories were actually true."

"You expect me to believe that Cousin Jackie is some kind of secret agent fighting an international criminal organization, ninjas, and mercenaries for magic talismans? Jade, that's ridiculous, tell me the truth," Dad demanded.

"It does seem a little farfetched Jade," Mom added with skepticism strong in her voice.

"See, you don't believe me so there's no point in telling you the truth."

"Jade, please, this isn't normal; it takes a very traumatic event to cause these kinds of dreams. You need to tell us what happened so we can understand and be able to help you."

Jade pulled away from her mother, "If you don't believe me then ask Jackie, I'm sure he'll make up something you can believe."

Mom got out of the bed and began leading Dad out of the room, "You've always been a brave girl Jade, looking for adventure and getting in over your head. I thought that you would find that adventure with Cousin Jackie and be safe. I only wanted you to be happy Jade, and I hope that whatever happened, that you don't find me at fault for doing what I did."

Dad wrapped his arm around Mom and she seemed to lose the energy to speak.

"I had an awesome time with Jackie and Uncle, precious memories I won't forget for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that you let me go, Jackie should be as well because I saved his life," Jade's thoughts turned to what Hsi Wu had said and felt a sense of dread, "If I did something really bad, would you forgive me?"

"Jade, I will always love you, even if you do things I cannot forgive."

Dad looked between the two and the two walked out the door and back to their beds to spend the rest of the night. Jade looked at that door long and hard, "Thanks Mom, I guess that will have to be enough."

Jade held on to that slim comfort even as she moved to gather up the blankets and stuffed Wonder Moose that had fallen off her bed, when she felt a sharp pain. Lifting her right sleeve up, Jade looked at the area where Hsi Wu had punched her, and saw that there was a set of characters wrapped around her arm, "Oh that can't be good."

Despite the pain of the wound and the strange markings, there was no big bruise and it didn't hurt to breathe, only when she moved around did the pain become noticeable. Pulling her sleeve back down, Jade decided that the last thing she wanted to do was go back to sleep and end up back in that world. Jade had been right – the place was really dangerous, she should try and call Uncle right now and get some answers to her questions after everything Hsi Wu had told her. It should be some time in the afternoon over in America. At least one good thing would have come out of this terrible night.

Jade climbed out of her bed and went through her door and found herself standing in an old theater. Rows of seats were tipped over and the lights along the aisle were flickering, giving a good impression that she had walked into a real dump here. Jade could hear the sound of the projector faintly over the piano blasting out music to the black and white picture on the screen.

"Okay Jade, you're not in Kansas anymore," Jade slowly walked down the aisle; the music from the piano was a frantic piece, moving quickly with notes pounded forcefully. Jade examined the screen to see if it was one she had seen before, and she was not happy to see Shendu, fully muscled and standing in a cavern, the bodies of Eastern dragons bleeding and broken around him, looking very similar to the ones that Jackie was going to be fed to.

Not wanting to watch this, Jade turned around and ran through the exit she had entered through, only to find herself looking at the exact same theater she had just fled. Jade looked at the other exits, but they all looked a plain black, and none of them gave Jade the feeling that she would escape whatever this was.

Jade found her eyes wandering to the screen, taking special notice of the crimson curtains that bordered the movie. The image of Shendu's triumph was disturbed as one of the fallen regained some strength and tried to bite Shendu's leg off – Jade hoped it managed to accomplish the task, but the attacker only received a punch that made the beast's skull impact with the ground and crack the stone.

The dragon's mouth moved in a parody of speaking before the screen turned black with text for what had just been said. –You will not get away with this Shendu. Your jealousy for power will be your undoing.-

Shendu kicked the fallen in the face, and the rebellious fighter was silenced. Shendu began trudging down tunnels, soon coming to a giant cavern filled with mounds of gold and treasure that covered the floor and piled up against the walls. Shendu ignored it all and continued to the back of the cavern, where several openings in the wall led down into dark depths. Shendu sniffed the air before moving down one, navigating a maze of paths till he reached his destination.

The music of the piano pounded in Jade's ears, the skill of the music becoming degraded as the discordant notes began entering the tune and the music got even louder.

Much smaller than the cavern that had held the treasure, this room had glowing crystals coming from the ceiling, and along the ground were hundreds of eggs. If Shendu was the same size as when he fought Jackie and her, then each of these eggs was as tall as Jade was. From Shendu's skirt, he pulled out a stone that glowed, and the light interacted with an egg in the center of the cavern. Shendu strode towards it without a care for the other eggs that cracked and burst under his feet, until he reached the one he was looking for.

Shendu picked up the egg and began chanting. Jade expected the screen to tell her what exactly he said, but when it did the words were blurry and out of focus. Jade squinted, trying to pick out the words, but she might as well have been trying to read ancient Sumerian. The egg glowed brightly as it lit up the whole cavern, and Shendu opened his mouth wide and swallowed the item whole. Looking quite satisfied with himself, Shendu let out a burp of fire and waved his hand causing the long shadows of the eggs to bend in strange ways until the room was lined with the mystical ninjas subservient to the demon. –Take care of the rest.-

The faint illumination of the crystals was extinguished.

Jade felt sick to her stomach watching such cruelty and callousness. Deciding she wasn't going to stick around for another minute, she ran down the aisle until she came to the exits at the bottom and opened them up. Just as she had imagined, she found herself stepping into a mirror version of the theater she was just in.

Jade wondered if she opened enough doors, would she eventually look at her own back, or if this was an endless string of broken down theaters. Shutting the door, Jade could feel the desire to just sit down in the theater and watch everything shown to her. Jade wouldn't let those thoughts take root, and pulled the curtains to the left and right of the screen, but no escape was presenting itself.

"Come on Jade, you're not going to let a little thing like demonic possession get you down. Looks like there's only one thing left to try."

Jade climbed up to the screen, the light of the projector on her back and the sound of the piano getting so loud that it was getting hard to think. Jade jumped forward and tore through the paper of the screen and entered in to a large cavity behind the screen. In the center of the room was the door, bright red with a green border. Jade could have jumped for joy; she opened the door, and instead of the room behind it, there was a glowing portal of bright light. Jade stepped through and opened her eyes to find that she was still lying on her bed. The smell of steamed rice and eggs was wafting through the air and the light of the sun was shining through her window.

Jade patted herself, looking to see if anything was different about her, but everything looked normal. Talking to Uncle had now jumped up from being "a good idea" to "get done as fast as she possibly can".

Breakfast that morning was delicious, but Jade couldn't help but feel guilty over what she had done last night, hitting her dad like that. Mom didn't bring it up though, she seemed like she was content to let Jade be and give her the space she needed to tell them when she was ready. Jade wanted to still be mad at her, but she was really making it hard.

"This is going to be your last day staying at home Jade, starting tomorrow you can go to your new school."

"New school? You mean I'm not going back to my old school?" Jade was surprised by this one.

"After the bad influences you met in your time there, your father felt it would be best to keep you away from them, especially since you're time back has already been so rough."

Jade felt herself getting angry at that reasoning; it hadn't been her fault she was being bullied. Maybe if anyone had stood up for her and protected her, she wouldn't have been on her own and broken that stupid boy's hand on accident. It was his fault for coming at her when she'd already had a rough day from all the teasing about how good she was at sports and her studies. Knowing that her parents had heard it all before didn't stop her from voicing her complaint, "It wasn't my fault what happened back then, and besides, I'm a different person now."

"I know Jade, but I think a fresh start will be good for you – it helped you so much to be with Cousin Jackie. I'm sure this new school will be just great. Now I have to leave for work, so I want you to be a good girl and stay out of trouble," Mom was chipper and full of energy this morning.

"It's a little late for that to happen," Jade mumbled, and while her Mom eyed her curiously, she didn't push Jade to elaborate.

Realizing it was getting into evening back in San Francisco while she was standing around here, Jade grabbed the phone and dialed Uncle's Rare Finds. Jade heard it ringing for a while and wondered if Jackie and Uncle were out for some reason, when the phone was answered by someone she wasn't expecting, "Hello, Uncle's Rare Finds, how may I help you?"

"Tohru?" Jade had wondered what had happened to the criminal sumo after he quit being Valmont's goon, but she hadn't expected him to be working with Uncle and Jackie.

"Jade? I was not expecting your call; do you wish to speak with Uncle?" Tohru asked.

"I do need to talk to Uncle," Jade pondered what she would say to him and the only thing that kept coming up in her head were Hsi Wu's warning, '_Do that, Jade, and before the year is done I will meet you in this realm in the flesh as your uncle imprisons you with the rest of us'_, "No! I can't talk to him about this. Is Jackie there?"

"I'm sorry, but my old employer is currently causing some trouble with the Talismans. We believe he retrieved them from the ruins of Shendu's palace, during the confusion after the battle. Section 13 and Jackie are planning on retrieving them."

"Jackie's going to get the Talismans without me? By himself? That's too dangerous. Jackie needs help if he's going to go up against the Dark Hand with all the Talismans, Tohru; you have to tell me where he is so I can help him."

Tohru pondered Jade's words, "I can't do that Jade; Jackie would not want you to run away from home to such a dangerous situation."

"I won't Tohru, I promise on my honor," Jade listened in hope as the end of the line went silent, and wondered if she'd lost her connection, "Look, if I can't convince you to tell me, then how about you owing me a favor? Remember that time you tried to kill me? Pick any of those, I don't care which, and I'm calling it in. I'm going to call El Toro and Viper and get them to come to the shop so you can drop whatever housework you're doing and go to Jackie and help him get those talismans back from the Dark Hand."

"Jade, wait!" Tohru shouted, but Jade didn't want to hear it from the guy after he refused to help her; she wasn't going to let anyone hurt Jackie. He was one of the most important people in her life.

Jade dialed her phone again, "Hello Viper, you're probably wondering how I got this number right now, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I want to make you an offer…"

Jade sat in her bed that night, hoping what she had done was enough to protect her family. El Toro had actually been the hardest person to convince to leave the Lucha Libre circuit, and if she'd overheard right it sounded like Paco was going to follow his idol across the border. Jade had given El Toro the number for Section 13's travel department to arrange their visas. Tohru had tried calling her back a few times, or maybe it had been Uncle, but Jade didn't want to talk to either of them. Jade wanted to call Jackie, but she knew that he didn't want her involved in his life anymore, and much as it hurt to realize that, she would rather ask for forgiveness then beg for permission any time of the week. Jade rubbed her arm where Hsi Wu had marked her; she had felt some moments of pain throughout the day from it, like she hit it with the corner of the cupboard, and now she worried what would happen when she went to sleep. Back to the demon realm; hiding and running and hoping that she wasn't caught didn't give her a strong incentive to close her golden-brown eyes.

In the end, it didn't matter how much she wanted to stay awake.

Jade was hoping that she'd be dreaming about bunnies and sheep jumping a fence, she was expecting to be in that strange realm with Hsi Wu and the other demons imprisoned, but what she got was so much worse. Not only was she in that realm, but all around her were the demons she had seen before and a few she had not, so that seven very different demons, each on their own floating rock, surrounded her. Jade smiled weakly, putting one hand on the back of her head and rubbing hard while the other weakly waved to her audience, "Bad day."

Hsi Wu flapped his wings and laughed in delight, "I told you, brothers and sisters. Elder brother Shendu is dead, and a younger sister now takes his place, a marvelous twist that will lead to our freedom after centuries of imprisonment in this empty realm, without land to rule or people to subjugate. Like bugs stuck in a bottle we have been, but now one on the outside can free us all if she can be suitably convinced."

A blue giant, armored, with reptilian skin, pointed a clawed hand into the air and lightning erupted from it, sending a peal of thunder that nearly deafened Jade, but at least Hsi Wu stopped talking.

"Shendu was destroyed by a little girl?" the armored demon asked, "For all his tricks and schemes, I would expect him to end up in a weak host. She does not appear to be worth our time, and I have spent too long here to put my trust in that little thing. How long until I am reunited with my brother, little girl, that I might break that little body and torment his spirit for all eternity?"

Another blue demon that looked like a horrible mix between Medusa and a mermaid, its hair a mass of writhing tentacles, interposed itself between Jade and the demon threatening her, "Fool, do you want to deal with Shendu's clever tongue and schemes again? It is his fault that we are even in this place to begin with."

Jade felt her consciousness slipping and worried that she was going to be seeing one of Shendu's memories again, but the mark on her arm flared up again. Jade knew it was bad when she felt relieved to still being surrounded by all these demons, but she didn't care at the moment.

"How far along is she? Does she remember her calling? Does she know who we are?" the blue giant leered at Jade, but wasn't willing to move any closer to the demonic mermaid.

"That is enough Tchang Zu, she is too fresh a catch. If she had even the basest control of her spirit, my net wouldn't have caught her while resting within her own body. It is the only explanation that makes sense from what Hsi Wu observed, but now she has been marked and she will remain asleep until we let her go," the mermaid turned to Jade and spread its arms out wide, "Hello, Jade. Hsi Wu has told me all about you and told you a little bit about us, so I'm going to ask you a very simple question. Will you release us from this prison, or will we torture your spirit until your body wastes away in the material world and everything that made you who are is broken and then I can punish my idiot brother for the rest of eternity?"

Jade realized this must have been the demon Hsi Wu was talking about earlier, Bai Tza. Jade felt her mouth go dry and licked her lips, "I'll do it, but you have to promise me something in return."

Tchang Zu let off another blast like thunder, "Do you hear this newborn trying to bargain with her elders? Such foolishness deserves to be punished."

An eerie voice replied, "Truly a unique individual."

His skin was a pale grey, with black hair pulled in to a topknot, and wearing a set of robes on his tall frame. Actually, looking at all the demons around, Hsi Wu was the shortest at the size of Uncle, and the green giant eying her was a literal mountain of flesh.

"What is your desire, little Jade?" the demon mermaid's red eyes met Jade's own in challenge of the child's bluff; willingly or not, Jade would free them.

"When I free you from here you have to teach me some magic, and if you hurt anyone I care about then I'll take you down myself," Jade managed to get the words out without stuttering, but it was a close thing.

"A demand and a threat," the purple toad with a baritone voice mused, "She's going to fit right in."

A demon that reminded Jade of the Minotaur from Greek legend – if it was 30 feet tall and broad as a barn – voiced his own opinions, "I don't like this. Fire will take our power to make her own flame burn brighter."

Bai Tza stretched out her hand to Jade, "We have a deal, shake on it?"

Jade grabbed the hand and shook, but she wasn't expecting the pressure of her hand being increased until it was like it was caught in a vice, "In order to free us you must find the Pan'Ku box, created by the chi wizards of the past so they could usurp our powers and our lands for their own. The box is infused with Good magic and I cannot tell you where it is or how to work it when you locate it. Find those answers from those who imprisoned us; you will no longer return to this realm when you sleep, but only after you have released one of us. The longer you wait to free us the more you will become a demon."

Jade went down to her knees, "How can I trust what you're saying is the truth. How do I know this isn't some sort of trick?"

"The proof will be there when you wake up Jade, and really, if you aren't trying to trick us as well, you won't live long enough for me to call you sister."

The demon's laughter followed her all the way to when Jade woke up to find herself facing a new day. Jade checked the mark on her arm to see it hadn't changed, and pulled her hair down to look at it closely, checking her hands and feet, every inch of her to see if anything had changed, but everything looked completely normal. Jade wondered what the proof was that was supposed to prove she had made a deal with demons, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. Smelling her mother's cooking, Jade got out of her bed and went to see what breakfast was going to be. Jade's mother turned around from the stove and was about tell her good morning, maybe remind her that today would be her first day at her new school, when she caught sight of Jade, "JADE! What's happened to you? Your eyes are red, all of it red!"

Jade realized this had to be what Bai Tza was talking about, "I'm sorry Mom."

And she ran.


	3. Chapter 2

_Jackie Chan Adventures is the property of somebody else and any money you'd like to give as thanks for this should really go to them instead. Any references to other properties I don't own are usually coincidental._

Jackie let out a sigh of relief; the last few weeks were so relaxing, not fighting demons or international criminals. Jackie had been able to indulge in his actual job as an archeologist and it was certainly a nice change of pace after almost a whole year working for Section 13. He'd gone to the college professors to set up expeditions with the academics around the world to dig up a history that wasn't actively trying to take him down, in particular. Jackie had a trip to the Mediterranean that he had been spending the last couple days preparing for. Jackie had missed doing this sort of thing, used to having his peace broken at these moments and, feeling like he was being watched, he turned around to find the area behind him noticeably empty. Jackie let out a sigh.

Jackie stood up and stretched his arms up into the air and let out a yawn before grabbing his glass of lemonade and taking a deep drink.

"Tohru," shouted Uncle in his typical mood, "Where is the coffee? Do you want dead Uncle?"

Jackie heard the former criminal and enemy next to the doorway closest to Jackie yell back, "No Sensei, I'm coming."

The biggest change since coming back from China, figuratively and literally, was Tohru's continual presence at Uncle's shop. Jackie had only been back from the last expedition after dropping off Jade with her parents only a few days and coming back to find Tohru patiently sweeping and Uncle behind the counter as he looked over his books had been a strange sight to see. Jackie had seen something was up with Uncle that day, as he didn't even lift his head up from his reading when the bell rang.

Jackie had tried pressing Uncle on the matter that day and on succeeding days, but the more he did the more likely Uncle would strike him on the brow and tell Jackie not to bother Uncle while he was doing research. When Uncle knew something, he would tell Jackie.

Jackie had been getting along with the new assistant, and former enemy, who was now sharing the spare bedroom with Jackie. Jackie had wanted the man out and in his own apartment somewhere around town but Uncle preferred having the man close for some reason. Jackie mused it was probably because the man's height let him reach the books on some of the higher shelves without having to move the ladder from one side of the room to the other. It just made this upcoming expedition he was planning even more necessary.

Jackie found it hard to just forget everything that Tohru had done, working for the Dark Hand as one of their lieutenants. Despite these feelings, Jackie had attempted to be friendly, and apparently getting nearly killed by a demon had really mellowed the man out and in no time the two were able to carry out a strained conversation that didn't center on their spotted history. Jackie had found the sumo to be a thoughtful person and he'd thought the two were getting over the past, but yesterday Tohru had returned to his typical silence and spent a lot of his time just being in the vicinity of Jackie. Jackie hoped he hadn't offended Tohru somehow.

Jackie's thoughts were broken by the phone ringing, "Tohru, don't just stand around, answer the phone properly."

Jackie got up from his seat, wanting the distraction a customer would bring, and reached the phone first. "Uncle's Rare Finds, how may I help you today?"

"Cousin Jackie? Just the man I wanted to speak to. I wasn't sure if I'd be bothering you calling at this hour and the time change and everything but I knew I had to call you after what just happened even if it did inconvenience you because I figured if anyone could explain what was going on it would be you, so I just had to call you as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Jackie asked, trying to take in the rapid fire speaking with a thick accent.

"Ah, sorry, this is your cousin Shen in Hong Kong, Jade's father. Look, I don't know how to say this, but have you seen or heard from Jade recently?"

"What? No, I haven't heard from her since I returned her to you weeks ago. Isn't she still in Hong Kong with you?"

"Jade ran away; she was inconsolable after you dropped her off here, not leaving her room for days. I thought it was just some childish rebellion, but something must have been bothering her greatly, as during the past several nights she's been having nightmares. Two nights ago she was screaming like a banshee and we tried to find out what happened to her but she kept on talking about the stories she was telling us. I thought she was making those up and now she's gone cousin Jackie, and I don't know why."

"Look, I'm sure Jade is up to her usual tricks and didn't realize she would upset you so much. If I see her, then I will send her straight back to you, you have my word on that," Jackie promised.

"I've tried calling everyone who knew her before her trip to America, putting up her picture in the area hoping someone saw something and would call in, but no one's been able to tell me anything. It's like she's vanished off the face of the Earth, and I don't know what else I can do."

"Is there anything you can tell me about the dreams? It could be important."

"No, Jade wouldn't tell us anything, and when Stacy saw something was wrong with Jade's eyes she ran away."

"Her eyes, what was wrong with her eyes?" Jackie felt his stomach dropping.

"It's impossible, really. I've even called several doctors asking for an explanation, but nothing they said fits with what Stacy said happened. Jade's eyes were completely red, like a monster's."

Red eyes, like the time when Shendu had possessed Jade to learn the location of Section 13's hidden base. That was impossible, Jackie thought to himself, Shendu was dead. But if it wasn't him, then why did Jade act so strangely?

"Thanks for telling me about this – I don't know what's happening, but if I learn anything that might help, I'll contact you. I'll keep in touch."

"Thank you, cousin Jackie, you are always someone I can depend on."

Jackie hung up the phone and headed straight towards Uncle, who was sitting at a desk in one of the back rooms, with several stacks of books on his desk and the old man carefully examining the contents of three books at once, going back and forth between the tomes before turning the pages to different areas in each of them. His wrinkled fingers reached for a fourth book from one of the stacks.

"Uncle, Jade ran away from home. I think this might have something to do with Shendu."

Uncle's response was unusually cool and calm, "Can you tell me something specific?"

"Cousin Shen said her eyes were red which reminded me of the time when Shendu possessed Jade."

"Shendu did that with the Sheep Talisman, which he has not used since because of my counter spell, and even if he had broken it when he regained his full powers, he still could not have used that power to escape Jade destroying him because it was the first talisman that you removed from Shendu. Ai-yah!" Uncle pulled the fourth book out of the stack and slammed it on to the desk, flipping it to the desired section.

"Sensei, did you know this would happen?" Tohru asked.

"Do you think Uncle is some fortune teller able to predict the future? Of course not, I only knew that Shendu's death would throw the world out of balance and give rise to greater evil. What direction that would come from – whether the rise of a new monster or the awakening of an ancient evil – I did not; it could be anything. The last confirmed death of a demon was centuries ago, and the knowledge of that event and its consequences is kept maddeningly vague. If the new evil has something to do with Shendu, then at least there is something specific I can research," Uncle picked up two of the books and lifted them up for Tohru to take away.

"If Jade isn't possessed by Shendu, then what made her run away from home? Why didn't she call us for help?"

Tohru retrieved the books from Uncle and placed them in their spots on the bookshelves, "Jade did call for you, but I thought you did not want her to get involved in such a dangerous life. I bear much blame in telling her that the Dark Hand currently holds the Talismans."

"How would you know that? ! I thought the Talismans were left in the ruins of Shendu's palace where they couldn't cause anyone else any harm."

"Jackie, the Talismans are powerful magic items that allow a normal person to do things that are impossible to replicate. Their worth and utility are incalculable. While you were taking Jade back home, Section 13 was combing through that area where the fight was occurring with a fine-tooth comb. When they found out that Valmont and the others broke out of Section 13 and took a flight to Hong Kong the same time as we did, it was not hard to determine how Jade was able to make it there and where the Talismans disappeared to."

"The Dark Hand has the Talismans and Section 13 hasn't called me in?" Jackie said, feelings of disbelief and relief battling each other for dominance.

"It's hard to say; there has been no evidence that they do, even several weeks after the Talismans' disappearance. Captain Black has been interviewing me regularly to reveal as much about the Dark Hand's operations as possible, and he let slip that information about the Talismans being missing to me to see if I had any theories on why they wouldn't use them as soon as they had them. I could offer no explanation except to say that they might be hoping that they would hide under a rock and wait until the heat from Section 13 dies down."

"Why were you talking to Captain Black?"

"Jackie, during my time with the Dark Hand I was not a good person. It is only thanks to my cooperation that Captain Black was able to get a pardon for all the information I've freely provided. Helping to bring down one of the crime syndicates on Interpol's most wanted list, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars of property to be returned to their proper owners, and breaking several drug and slavery rings in major cities around the world. I was a very bad man and if I had not received that pardon I would have spent a very long time in prison."

"Tohru, I didn't realize that this was the case," Jackie said.

"I did not wish to bother you."

Jackie let out a sigh, "I am getting used to being bothered and I really prefer it to being surprised. If Jade calls again, then find out where she is… though considering her history, I expect she'll find me first. In the mean time, I think it's time for me to have a talk with Captain Black."

"I will come with you," Tohru said, "I also have some business to conduct at Section 13."

The underground facility of Section 13 was quite large in its central area, with exposed pipes travelling in all directions, likely the main pipelines for the city. The facility had branching hallways from that main room with labs, auditoriums, offices, sleeping quarters, and equipment for the several hundred agents, consultants, and researchers that worked for an organization so secret it required clearance to know of its existence. Stood up by Interpol to deal with the Dark Hand's unorthodox methods and resources that netted them military grade weapons and prototypes, the base of Section 13 was looking a little barren as Jackie walked through the halls to Captain Black's office. He had separated with Tohru, who had gone directly to the interrogation rooms as soon as they arrived.

Jackie knocked on the door.

"Come in," Captain Black's voice responded.

Stepping into the leader of Section 13's office, Jackie saw the man was sitting back in his chair, his customary trench coat hanging on the back and wearing his typical maroon shirt and black pants with a holster on his hip carrying his service pistol. Jackie had known Eugene Black since they were in high school, though they had typically run in different circles, Jackie spending more time in the library while Black spent it on the football field. Despite their different interests the two had become friends during that time in their lives.

"Jackie, what are you doing here? I thought you were still on that expedition."

"I got back a few days ago; it was a nice change of pace, but something strange happened with Jade and she's run away from home. If that wasn't enough, I just learned from Tohru what he's been doing here and that the Talismans are in Valmont's hands."

"Sorry about that Jackie, I'd like to help with Jade. She's a good kid with a habit to rush in and I'm sure one day she'll make a fine agent. Most I can do for you and her is to call whoever does missing persons in China and her parents likely already did that. As for Tohru, that's just the big guy's theory, but right now I have nothing to back it up. Look Jackie, you have to know that if the Dark Hand were packing talisman power, you would be one of the first people I'd call in. Maybe the Talismans were destroyed with Shendu. The longer it is from when that happened, the more likely that the Talismans went to the same hell as that demon. Until we know for certain, there's no need to involve you while my best men break down the Dark Hand's infrastructure and resources."

"I'm just an archeologist, one man, there is no need to treat me like I'm some kind of hero."

"Jackie, you're a real humble guy and if I had my way and I could get my superiors to believe me about what happened in Hong Kong, you would have a medal and a parade down Main Street. Until then, a handshake is going to have to do," Captain Black stood up and held out his hand which Jackie quickly took, the two friends sharing a strong grip.

"Thank you, Captain Black."

Finn let out a large breath, his body leaving the state of sleep it had been in since his spirit had left it to explore. The strong smell of fish hovered in the air from one of the few safe houses remaining that Section 13 hadn't raided.

"I got some good news, and I got some bad news. Section 13 is running on a skeleton crew right now, but Jackie Chan is back in town."

Valmont stood in his finest, and last, suit and pondered the implications. "Then it appears we will have to play with all our strengths to recoup the losses of the treasure's disintegration and Tohru's recent actions. This calls for a trip to the bank to make a withdrawal."

It was raining again, but at least it wasn't snowing. Jade tried to comfort herself with these words as she moved between the various antique stores and bookshops in this city. She had received several odd looks from the other customers and suspicious ones from the store owners themselves, a few of the shop keepers had even yelled at her to leave when she came up to the counter. Jade didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do at this point, she could only imagine what would happen if she wasn't wearing sunglasses.

The latest shop she had entered reminded Jade of Uncle's shop, the walls covered with bookshelves holding old texts and trinkets. Jade hadn't bothered looking at the sign over the store's entrance as she doubted this stop would be any more productive then the other stores she'd entered since she left home. Jade still had several more places to check out, but she might have to go on to the next town in some random direction, to avoid attention if things kept on happening the way they had been.

Jade bumped into one of the customers when they were reaching for a figurine of a cat. "Sorry."

"Be more careful next time and stay close to your parents. Kids these days," the man grumbled, barely giving Jade a glance.

Jade went to the back of the store, looking through the store's books, trying to find anything that talked about what interested her, but she was coming up short. Finally the man she had bumped into walked out the door into the rain and popped open an umbrella to keep dry. Jade envied the man, and pulling out his wallet from her pocket, she took the man's spare cash and one of his credit cards that looked rarely used and put them away in her own pocket. Making sure that no one had seen her, Jade walked up to the counter. The clerk looked like he was one second from tossing her out in to the cold as well. Jade put the wallet on the counter before he could say a word, "I found this guy's wallet on the ground and I just wanted to return it. If you could give this back to him when he comes looking for it, I'd really appreciate it."

The clerk was an older man, looking to be in his 50's with thinning hair that he had combed over to lightly cover his bald spot. Jade thought he'd be better off shaving it and wearing a rug. He eyed her up and down before finally taking the wallet and opening it up to look at it closely and check the contents before sliding it under the counter. "You did what you wanted, is there anything else?"

"Oh yes, I was wondering if you might have any books on some ancient Chinese legends. You see, I'm doing a school report on the Pan'ku box and the Demon Sorcerers for a report in my school and I didn't see anything that looked helpful. My Uncle has a shop like this and he usually keeps even more books in the back. Would one of those have what I'm looking for?"

The clerk scratched his chin, "That's not a lot to go on, can you tell me when the book was published, the time period it would likely cover, anything like that."

Jade rested her hands on the counter, "I think it covers a period around 900 years ago and could have been published around then to today for all I know. Oh, I'd also be interested if it contains information on Hsi Wu, Tchang Zu, or Bai Tza."

The clerk's hand stopped, "And you learned these names from your Uncle for a school report? I suppose I can look in the back, but I'd like to ask you to stay here while I look."

Jade nodded and waited several minutes, until another customer came up and rang the bell. Jade expected some response to come from the clerk, but nothing happened. The woman rang the bell a couple more times before walking off in a huff. Jade went behind the counter, and looked in the back room to see the place deserted, the back door rocking back and forth from the wind and a small puddle of water growing. Well this was a good sign; the man wouldn't have fled if he didn't think he was in danger. Jade crouched down in a sprinter's stance, "On your mark, get set, GO!"

Jade ran down the street, keeping an eye out in the alley for anyplace the storekeeper might have gone or places he might have hid. To Jade's eyes he hadn't looked like a fit individual with his large gut, but she didn't want to lose the first promising lead she'd found. Jade was nearing the end of the alleyway and saw her target leaning against the wall, his arms wrapped around a book and trying to shield it from the rain. The man peered around the corner of the alley, checking the road for something, and then turning around to see Jade performing a flying kick that struck him in the chest, pushing him off the wall and down on the ground. Jade pulled off her sunglasses, revealing her red eyes; the man was instantly paralyzed with fright. Jade ripped the book from his weak hold and showed it to him, "Is this what I'm looking for? Will this tell me how I can get the Pan'ku box?"

The man averted his eyes, "Please don't hurt me, I have a family."

"Answer the question."

"Yes, I knew you had to be trouble. You gave me the willies as soon as you entered the door, and when I learned what it was you wanted I tried to protect it. It was the only way to avoid your curse."

Jade showed the book to the man, flipping through the pages, "I don't want to hurt you, so please, tell me when I get to the right page."

"That's it. Please let me go."

Jade looked at the page she was on and was pleased to see that this particular book contained an illustration of the Pan'ku box as well as information detailing its last known location. Jade released her hold and got off the man, walking back to the rear entrance of the shop.

"Honestly, what did you think you would accomplish running away from me like a scared little rabbit? You would have done better to stand still and hope my attention would have passed you by. I'm just going to see if you have any other books in your store that I might want, but you can have the place back when I'm done with it."

The storeowner cowered in the rain, "If you get what you ask for, it will only lead to trouble – you endanger the world with your actions. I had to do something."

"I don't blame you for that, you're probably right about the book, and I give you points for trying. Go be with your family, and hopefully a stronger man than you will be able to stop what I have to do," Jade pulled on her sunglasses and left the man to his own devices. Out of the rain and alone, the store empty of the other customers, Jade sat down, working off the adrenaline from that confrontation. She wondered if the other old men she had seen tending their shops had realized who she was but just hadn't been as foolish as this guy. Was she just being paranoid? If she hadn't caught such a lucky break on finding the book now, how long would it have taken her before she forced people to talk to her? Jade didn't like where this train of thought was taking her.

Calmed down, Jade went to the front door and turned the sign around to signify the place had closed for the day. Alone and not likely to be bothered, Jade looked closely at the book, trying to read it, but a lot of the characters were old and she found it slow going. Eventually she felt like she had gotten what she needed from it.

"Now let's see what else is here that could be useful."

Alarms sounded all over the place, and Jackie was looking hard at the siren.

'I'm going to hope that has nothing to do with me.'

That hope was in vain, though, as Captain Black appeared in short order, "Jackie, it's finally happened, the Dark Hand is making its move in the financial district, and they are packing talismans. I've sent everyone else ahead, but I need you to come along as well. We get the Talismans and lock them away so they'll never cause trouble in the wrong hands again. Are you with me, Jackie?"

"I'll do it, and I hope you're right that this is the last time I'll have to deal with them."

Rushing towards the garage, they climbed in to the jeep and Jackie was astonished to see Tohru sitting in the back seat, "Tohru, what are you doing here?"

"When Jade called, she wanted me to protect you and help get the Talismans back from the Dark Hand; I owe her that. She was quite firm on the matter, and I couldn't say no to her."

"Captain Black?"

"We are undermanned Jackie; I wasn't expecting Valmont to act so decisively and let my numbers get down so low. I need the muscle."

'That is final', was the clear implication behind that statement, and Jackie was willing not to fight over the matter when time was of the essence.

"Let's roll out," said Captain Black, the three of them going to the garage where agents wearing full body armor held shotguns and rifles, climbing into APC's like soldiers rushing to war, and if things went badly Captain Black would be writing a lot of letters. They loaded up into a jeep, with Tohru taking up the whole back seat with his size and noticeably lowering the rear end of the vehicle.

The ride to the financial district was tense; Captain Black's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that he had white knuckles. A voice over the radio announced, "Anyone listening to this line, this is Sergeant Gamble, things have gone to Hell here and we've lost most of the vehicles we have. Civilians and officers are down and the only bright spot is that we've been able to convince the press to keep its helicopters out of sight for a little while with the warning that they would be shot at if they get to close. I'm not sure how long they'll stay convinced, but all the explosions in the area should discourage them at least for a little while."

"This is Captain Black of Section 13 of Interpol; we're coming in to give you back up, I think we're already going to have enough to explain without the major news getting involved. Hopefully the only coverage this gets is from the tabloids; we'll be there in ten."

"If you could make that five, the first round will be on me."

"Roger that," Captain Black's face was blank, but his foot pressed the accelerator to the floor. The engine roared and the other vehicles did their best to keep up.

Arriving at the scene, it was as bad as Jackie feared it would be. Coming down the road, there were bodies lying all over the place. Men and women in business suits; occasionally as the contingent of jeeps went down the road, Jackie would see a person staggering to their feet and shuffling away. As they got closer, the fancy suits were replaced with people wearing security guard uniforms and the local police. The sound of gunfire constantly being fired could be heard as they turned the corner, and there in the middle of the road was a SWAT van with several people wearing full riot gear pointing their weapons at the bank across the road.

The caravan pulled up in front of the van and everyone got out of their vehicles and took cover, pulling out their pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

"I got here early Sergeant; I hope you're ready to pay for those drinks."

One of the SWAT members moved from behind the van to join Jackie, Tohru, and the Captain, "I don't want to complain, but I said in five and I think you got here closer to six. Still, you brought a lot of firepower so I'm still willing to pay up. What's up with bringing the civilians, though?"

Captain Black cocked his gun, "They're experts in dealing with what we're up against."

The sergeant took a good look at the two and pointed his rifle at the door, "I've seen some impossible things going on here, so if those two can deal with it without any guns, well I'd like to see that."

The sound of stone shattering rang out and the wall burst open, a vault door flying out and striking one of the jeeps. The people behind the car tried to jump out of the way and avoid the vault door as it slammed into the ground partially crushing the vehicle. Several guns pointed toward the new opening as bricks and mortar fell, raising a thin cloud of dust. Jackie looked at the dust closely, and realized he could see something moving through and disturbing the cloud, though the source was impossible to discern.

"Captain Black, Snake Talisman," Jackie pointed toward the opening.

Captain Black gave the order, "Everybody open fire!"

Everyone along the line opened up, firing everything they had left in the clip. Bullets peppered the cement, and as soon as everyone had finished firing, Captain Black shouted out again, "Reload and hold! Did we get him Jackie?"

Jackie shook his head, "No, he would have become visible. This is a bad place to be in, I'm going to go in and try and herd them out to you. The longer this goes on, the more dangerous it will become for us. Tohru, try and find where they are storing the money they're stealing. I'm going in."

"Very well Jackie," Tohru was crouched low, but even then his large girth left him exposed over the cars.

"Jackie, if you go in there this could be a suicide mission, are you sure this is the best play? We still got a little more coming our way," Captain Black reasoned.

"Is this guy crazy? He's going to take on something that's already taken out half my squad by himself?" Sergeant Gamble asked.

Jackie let out a calming breath, "I can handle myself."

Ten people down the street cried out one after the other as they were suddenly struck down or knocked back. Jackie started running towards the assailant, even as Captain Black was shouting for everyone to hold steady and keep their eyes on the bank. Jackie ran close to the wall, counting on it to limit the invisible attacker's ability to strike at him.

Getting to the empty area, Jackie could see Ratso, wearing a cheap suit and a piece of tape on the bridge of his nose, hiding around the corner of the alley, yelling in to a walkie-talkie, "Everyone's here, it's time to make our move and get out of here. Man, Valmont isn't paying good enough for this. One second, I just got spotted by Chan."

Jackie tried to close the distance, but Ratso's eyes glowed ominously and Jackie jumped back as a beam flew at his feet and heated up the road and softened the asphalt. Jackie ran away even as Ratso continued to fire beams from his eyes. A gunshot rang out and Ratso fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Jackie looked to the side to see Sergeant Gamble with his rifle raised. Jackie was a little torn about the gunfire, but he was suitably distracted by the pair of tanks coming down the road. Captain Black had a bullhorn and was using it, "Come out with your hands up and the Talismans where we can see them. You have till the count of three. One."

Caught up in the moment, Jackie looked to the hole in the wall to see what happened next.

"Two."

Just when Captain Black was about to give the order to fire, Chow stepped out of the hole in the wall with his hands raised up, a talisman grasped in each of them. Wearing his typical black leather jacket and orange tinted sunglasses, the Asian looked as calm as a man about to pick up bread from the grocery store.

"Valmont has a message for you, he says to back down or else."

Captain Black couldn't help himself, "Or else what?"

Against his will, Captain Black's firearm and everyone else's guns began to rise in the air, lifting their owners with them if they refused to let go, till they were all orbiting a red headed man with a long beak like nose and a white suit with a purple button up shirt, "I think you'll figure it out. Now Chow."

Chow threw one hand in front of him and the talisman in his palm, which appeared to be glued in place, and the veins around it bulged. A stream of flames shot out of Chow's hand and tore through the metal armor of a tank's turret, ripping the top off it. The second tank's rear end lifted up in the air, directing the main cannon at the road in front of it; when it fired, the end of the cannon was ruined and a large pothole was created.

Captain Black yelled in to his radio, "This is a direct order, I want everybody to fall back now!"

Eight agents were running away from the scene when Chow put out his other hand, "Is Section 13 just a bunch of chickens?"

A ray of light passed over the fleeing agents and replaced them with a bunch of chickens, some running as fast as they were worth, with a few just stopping to look at their wings. Sergeant Gamble grabbed hold of Captain Black's shoulder and pulled him towards a nearby alley, "I hope your specialist is going to do something quick, because this has just turned insane."

"The coast is clear," Chow shouted, "So grab the money and let's get out of here."

A truck pulled up, and Finn flew down to aid Hak Foo and Chow to throw the money in back. Jackie, not willing to accept defeat, ran towards the three thugs. Jackie was hoping the three would try and fight him; maybe he could buy some time for Section 13 to regain the advantage somehow. If he could get some of those talismans back, then that could really turn the fight around.

"Chan is mine. The rest of you get out of here," A muscular man wearing a blue shirt and pants with spiky red hair that matched his eastern style mustache and beard, Hak Foo was a mercenary that Jackie had fought a couple times before, and the man was a skilled fighter, a change from the other Enforcers that Jackie could literally fight rings around. Jackie was not looking forward to a rematch.

Jackie felt a blow to the back and fell to the ground. Looking behind him, he saw a perfectly healthy Ratso standing there.

"But how? I saw you get shot," Jackie scrambled to his feet even as Hak Foo and Ratso raised their dukes for the upcoming fight.

"Horse gave me a clean bill of health," Ratso moved forward in a blur, boosted by the speed of the Rabbit Talisman. Jackie kicked low, hoping to trip up Ratso, but the thug swerved to the side, avoiding Jackie's attack and running around Jackie and Hak Foo. Jackie's attempt to follow the speedster was interrupted as Hak Foo made his move.

"Angry crow takes flight!" Hak Foo jumped into the air and Jackie turned his attention to the mercenary, awaiting the incoming blow, "Eagle plucks salmon from stream!"

Jackie avoided Hak Foo's attack, when he felt a fist clip him in the side of the head.

"Cat pounces on laser beam."

Jackie ducked in close to Hak Foo, limiting the range of his strikes and, grabbing the fighter in a judo hold, tossed the man into the speedster's path. Knocking the two to the ground, Jackie looked at the van Finn and Chow were about to climb into. The driver's side that Chow was going for opened up and 300-plus pounds of angry sumo kicked Chow, knocking the little guy back and down onto the road. Chow clutched his chest, cursing quite loudly.

Tohru wasted no time standing over the former ally, intent on stripping the Talismans from Chow's hands. Chow reached forward and, using a strength that surely had to come from the Ox Talisman, tossed Tohru away from the truck. Jackie wanted to help, but again Hak Foo's voice alerted him to another attack, "Scorpion stings toad!"

Jackie exchanged blows and watched impotently as Ratso ran past the two of them to climb into the driver's seat with Finn riding shotgun. Chow looked ready to head back to the van when – out of nowhere – El Toro rushed Chow and clotheslined the villain, before heading in Hak Foo and Jackie's direction.

"El Toro, what are you doing here?"

"There is no time for that, Senor Jackie. I will take on this foe while you deal with the truck."

"Watch out for his Talismans, he hasn't used any yet, and when I get back you have a lot of explaining to do. It was very nice seeing you again. Bye-bye," Jackie ran towards the truck that was already in motion. While El Toro and Tohru had their match with Chow and Hak Foo, the truck was building up speed and Jackie thought it would escape him with all the ill gotten gains… but then a line of rope descended from the roof of the truck. Grabbing tightly to that line, Jackie was able to climb his way to the top, where he found one of the last people Jackie expected to see in this situation.

"Hi Jackie."

"Viper?" Wearing a turtleneck with a ski mask that only revealed her eyes, she raised an eyebrow at him and pulled up the rope behind her and coiled it. The two each held tightly to a separate magnetic clamp on the roof, even as the truck swerved in and out of opposing lanes of traffic. Leaving town, the bank robbers got onto a road that would follow the coast.

"Is that all you got to say to me after so long, Jackie? I'm hurt, really," Viper removed her hood, her smile putting lie to her words. Keeping the rope taut, Viper ran forward before leaping to the side. Jackie called out to her, "What are you doing?"

Viper let the rope pull her along the side of the van as she descended and found herself close to the tires. Pulling a pouch off her waist, she dumped the contents just ahead of the rear tire she was a few feet away from. Caltrops landing in front of the tire, Viper quickly pulled herself up, Jackie recovering from his shock to help her even as the rear tires she'd hit ruptured and the van went out of control.

Jackie let out a cry even as he wrapped his arms around Viper as the van crashed through the road barrier to fall twenty feet and onto the beach, tipping onto its side in the process. The thief and the archeologist leapt off the roof and into the relatively soft surface of the sand. Though Jackie had the wind knocked out of him, he was glad that nothing felt broken.

Jackie wondered if it was over, but then the door facing the sky popped open, letting Finn fly into the sky with Ratso beneath him. Finn waved his hands towards the two and let Ratso fall on the sand.

"You could have done that gentler!" Ratso shouted out.

"Time is not on our side, good buddy, so handle these two and let's get out of here," Finn responded.

Viper went on the offensive, charging at Ratso, who turned himself invisible but didn't move fast enough to avoid the woman's openhanded palm strike, which knocked him back into the truck. Viper dodged Ratso's return blows even with him invisible. Ratso's voice sounded out of the air, "How are you doing that?"

"You might be invisible, but I can still see where your feet are," Viper could see the Enforcer looking down at the ground in her mind, and with a sweep of her leg, she felt the satisfying connection of her legs against his, knocking Ratso down.

"Oof!" Ratso's invisibility ended, the Snake Talisman rolling away in the sand. Viper took advantage of the stunned opponent to jump on top of him with her knees into Ratso's chest and boxing the man's ears, which put his lights out. Viper began to dig through Ratso's pockets for the other talismans, only to be shoved off to the side by Jackie, the two barely avoiding a Finn flying through the space they had previously occupied.

"Isn't this a bad time to be rolling around on the beach?" Viper asked.

"Still fighting," Jackie replied and rolled off, even as Finn let out a blast of heat beams from his eyes at the archeologist.

Jackie kept on trying to close the distance, running all around the beach while Finn kept to the air with the Rooster Talisman, taking potshots with those heat beams.

"Why don't you quit dodging like a coward?" Finn quipped.

"Probably for the same reason you won't get close to me," Jackie returned the barb.

Considering herself unnoticed at the moment, Viper returned to Ratso's unconscious body and claimed the Rabbit and Horse Talismans as well as the Snake that had rolled away.

"Jackie, think fast," Viper yelled out, tossing a talisman in Jackie's direction.

Jackie threw out a hand and grabbed onto the talisman, still running, and felt the flash of power from the talisman activating. Jackie's run accelerated past the speed of the fastest sprinters and animals and a wake of sand flew up behind him as he ran towards a cliff face. Using his momentum, Jackie started running up the cliff even as Finn pulled to a stop to avoid crashing into the landscape and saw the speedy Chan get above him.

"Oh no."

Jackie stopped moving and leapt down, landing on Finn's back and forcing the two of them to drop into a hard crash on the ground below. Jackie's fall was cushioned by Finn's body and he worried he might have seriously hurt him when Finn let out a groan, "Immortality hurts."

Jackie let out a sigh of relief, grateful his plan had worked out, and removed the Pig and Rooster Talismans.

Grabbing a leg, Jackie pulled Finn across the sand and dropped him next to the unconscious Ratso. Jackie let out a sigh, "Why are you here Viper? Does this have something to do with Jade?"

"That's the thing about you Jackie; you always want to get straight to business. It's really quite charming. I'm here for the same reason Tohru and that wrestler was – because Jade called me and asked me to help you."

"You drop everything for a young girl you barely even know to travel from who knows where against a gang that almost got us killed over for just one talisman before?"

"It's not the most rational choice, but for some reason Jade looks up to me, and what kind of role model would I be if I didn't indulge in some heroics? The fact that the magic ninjas weren't going to show up may have contributed in my decision to help as well."

"You're a thief; I can't imagine you showing up here unless you thought there was something to gain."

"Retired thief, actually – I've earned as much money as I'll ever need."

"Stole it, you mean."

"Now, now; I'm enjoying my retirement, and if I happen to spend that traveling the world where you just happen to be, I don't see where it's any concern of yours. I don't need the Talismans for anything, so if it makes you feel better," Viper handed over the Horse and Snake Talismans, "you can have my payment and we'll call things even between us. Besides, I didn't think Jade had the right to offer these in the first place."

"Jade offered you the Talismans in exchange for your help?"

"She said I could keep whichever one I wanted. She cares a lot about you Jackie, and as hard as I might be I'm not heartless."

Jackie was about to respond when a shot rang out, followed closely by Viper falling to her knees and grabbing her shoulder. Jackie was surprised to see the shooter was Valmont with a pistol, strolling up to the two of them, wearing a green suit with a black shirt and yellow tie, with his long white hair pulled back in to a ponytail and rage in his blue eyes.

"Do you know what you've done to me?"

"Valmont," Jackie stated, surprised to see the leader of the criminal organization standing in shouting range of him.

"I used to run a criminal empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars, with boats, jets, helicopters. Safe houses positioned all over the world, and a high-rise office in downtown San Francisco. All of it gone chasing after some fool treasure that turns to dust with the death of that double crossing demon. I attempt a big score and sending a clear message not to stand in my way, but there you are again, ruining my plans, and I won't have it anymore. I don't care if I have to start at the bottom again, I'm going to kill you and that traitor for thinking you can mess with me."

Valmont might have gone on a little longer, but Viper wasn't one to let a person shoot her and do nothing about it. With her hurt hand, she dropped a pouch on the ground and spinning wildly, it exploded, covering the ground around them with a thick grey smoke. Viper pushed Jackie with her good arm, even as shots started to ring out. Running through the smoke, Viper ran out of the temporary screen even as Jackie flew out and let loose a heat beam that struck Valmont's gun.

Valmont let out a cry of pain before dropping his weapon and getting pinned to the ground by Viper, who used her good hand to pull zip-ties from her waist, tying the jerk's feet and hands. Just for good measure she decided to gag him as well; his incessant crying of "no" over and over again really got on her last nerve.

Jackie looked at the wound, but it appeared the bullet had gone in and out. Putting the Horse Talisman against her arm, the flow of blood from the wound touched the edge and with a flash of power, Viper's wound sealed up as her flesh re-knitted itself, not even leaving a scar behind.

"See Jackie, you really do care."

Jackie's response was cut short at the roar of a motorcycle from the freeway, as the vehicle flew off the gap created by the runaway truck and landed in the sand. Jackie was glad to see that it was Captain Black.

"It's good to see you, Captain. How are Tohru and El Toro?"

Captain Black set his helmet down on his bike, "Those two are fine, and even if they don't trust each other, they managed to get four of six talismans back in to Section 13's hands. Hak Foo and Chow managed to escape using the Rat Talisman to hot wire a car."

"It can do that? You said four of six; what other talisman did they manage to get away with?"

Captain Black examined the Talismans that Viper and Jackie had collected and nodded, "Must be the Tiger Talisman; if Hak Foo uses it, maybe it will split him and we'll get to see a version of him that's actually nice. It isn't that big a concern right now."

Valmont's muffled yells still echoed from his gag, and Captain Black finally noticed the leader of the Dark Hand lying there pretty as a present on Christmas Day. Kneeling down beside the prone figure, Captain Black's grin was irrepressible, "What is important right now is that you, Valmont, will spend the rest of your days in the strongest maximum security prison that I can find. It's only a matter of time before the rest of your Enforcers join you in there."

Jackie was happy that his adventures were finally over, but he really wished he knew where Jade was, when Captain Black interrupted his thoughts, "Come on Jackie, let's get you back to base and debrief you."

Jade didn't know what she'd been expecting when she'd come here, following the words of that book and the landmarks it had described to this location in the remote mountains. It had taken days of traveling by car, cart, and foot to reach these cloud-covered peaks and the chill was getting to her even through her sweatshirt and jeans. Arriving at midday when the sun was at its highest point, Jade finally reached a collection of ruined buildings spreading outward from the central temple in the middle of the settlement. Entering the temple, Jade knew from her own experiences to keep an eye out for patterned sections of the floor, strings at shin level, or small holes in the walls being sure signs for traps. Keeping an eye out for these tell tale signs kept her on edge when she entered the temple, or whatever it had been when it had been occupied.

Despite being so cautious, the fact was that she wasn't finding any of that stuff and she began to wonder if she had come to the wrong place. Surely something so dangerous would be kept under strict supervision and protections. Maybe she was wrong or the book was wrong or someone else had already found this place and taken the Pan'ku box to some private collection, or stuck it in a warehouse next to the alien autopsy results and the Ark of the Covenant where no one would even think to look.

The thought was making her lightheaded; she continued to press forward until she found herself in the central chamber, a room that was luxuriously decorated with wall hangings and a stone altar with a maroon cloth over it. Despite the thick layer of dust trying to mute the colors, Jade could see the cloth was bordered by a repeating pattern of symbols of three lines in sets of eight where each one was different from the last. One of the symbols in particular caught her attention.

Jade could feel her stomach dropping out from underneath her, that familiar sensation of falling. Closing her eyes, when she reopened them again, Jade found herself in a large auditorium with rows and rows of chairs and along the walls were red doors with green frames. Seeing her chance to escape right in front of her and not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, she ran to the closest one to her and pulled open the doors to find behind them a brick wall. Jade slammed the door and ran to the next and pulled that one open, and again she was confronted with bricks. Jade slammed her fist on the bricks, hoping to break through, but all that happened was that her fist throbbed with pain and Jade cradled it.

The speakers overhead begin to blast the sounds of battle, explosions, the roar of dragons, and death. She didn't know where it came from, but Jade could also smell burnt flesh and freshly spilled blood permeating the air. Jade found her eyes turning up to the screen and she wondered if the exit could be behind the screen like last time, but when she saw the scene before her any thought of escape seemed to drain out of her. Numb, she sat down and glimpsed the past.

Shendu was a mighty warlord, the only armor he wore was the skin he was born with, but this was more than suitable for most humans that would dare seek battle with the Demon Sorcerer of Fire. The one who dared challenge him this day was aware of this fact and he had brought an army to buy him time to use his tricks. One of the Immortals that had already captured Bai Tza, and hunted the rest of his brothers and sisters, now they thought they could deprive him of his kingdom and his glory.

Throwing his arm forward, he directed the dragons in his ranks to surge forward. Bloodthirsty beasts with glowing red eyes and blue scales, the dragons had been stolen from his kin and turned into savages that would only obey his will. The opposing forces placed their spears' butts against the ground and stood their ground. Courageous as they might be, the line broke like a rotten branch as the massive bulk of Shendu's beasts broke through the first line to spread chaos in the ranks. Powerful warriors, trained from birth in their weapons, leading squads of Shadowkhan took advantage of the opening to make their own push. Shendu looked on in satisfaction as the two forces crashed against each other, and with each impact a little more of the enemy was left dying on the ground.

Looking towards the enemy General, Shendu's eyes narrowed in irritation as he saw the Immortal doing some sort of ritual.

"Don't let him finish that ritual! Crush him my minions!" Shendu shouted.

Shendu's words had little effect, and in fact knots of resistance were starting to form in the melee and Shendu's forces were starting to be pushed back. Growing agitated by this setback, Shendu started to pace when whatever the Immortal was doing was completed and Shendu was stopped hard as a beam of good magic flew forward to hit the demon square in the chest. Shendu let out a groan and dropped to one knee, a horde of Shadowkhan turning to shadows and fading away. Shendu coughed and saw on his chest a trigram of green flames.

"Curse you, Lu Dongbin. I think it is time that I find out just how accurate your title of Immortal matches to mine," Shendu saw his forces were starting to get pushed back, the savage dragons turning against friend and foe in rage even as his warriors found themselves too deep in to the enemy's ranks. The knots of resistance grew, and it looked like the Immortal would have as much time as he needed to complete his spell.

Shendu would not allow such a result to occur, and he regained his feet. Drawing upon the Zodiac power of the Rooster and the Rabbit and balancing them with the Tiger, Shendu shot into the air and zipped over the battlefield. The sound of his passing like the roar of thunder, Shendu dropped down in the middle of the enemy camp even as Dongbin waved his hands over his sword and it began to glow with the same green flames that had marked Shendu. Officers and soldiers tried to turn their weapons on Shendu, there in the midst of them, but most blades were turned.

Despising the distraction, Shendu let loose his own flames, surrounding the area around the Immortal and the demon cutting them off from any aid and burning anyone that didn't move fast enough.

"Your reign ends today, foul demon. Man should not be ruled by monsters," Dongbin raised his blade high above his head, his mouth open as if about to speak more when Shendu stepped forward and, drawing on the power of the Ox to multiply his already impressive strength, grabbed the man and squeezed.

"Your foolish words will not save you from me," Shendu said.

Feeling the man's ribs crack, fracture, and ultimately shatter in Shendu's claws, a line of blood dribbling over the man's lips, Shendu watched in satisfaction as the good magic on his chest and the sword sputtered and died. Shendu tossed the broken man into the flames and broke the sword of his enemy. Holding up the broken blade, the forces that had witnessed the short duel yelled for retreat and the battle turned into a rout.

Jade licked her dry lips; she really needed to get out of here. The longer she stayed in this room the more dangerous this was. She didn't know how she knew that, but she could feel it. Returning to her search for the way out, Jade ran to several more doors, but each one was a dead end, walled off. Jade pounded on the bricks, not caring anymore if she was wrong and she continued to beat on the bricks even as her hands throbbed. A crack rang out and a brick fell in, letting a beam of that familiar light shine in to her face. Looking behind her, Jade checked to see if anything was sneaking up on her exposed back and her eyes turned to the screen, causing her to notice something very disturbing.

Shendu was staring right back at her.

"You," the demon's words reverberated with such pressure that Jade thought her ears would burst.

Jade turned back around and threw her body against the wall, the force of it finally enough for her to break through and into the light.

Jade could feel the chill of the evening wind against her face and staggered to her feet. Moving up to the altar that dominated the room, Jade ripped the cloth off to reveal a stone block with a clear seam marking the stone tablet cover. Even with the dim lighting, it did not bother Jade or impair her ability to see clearly what she was doing. Jade looked around for something to pry the lid off. Grabbing a long candlestick, the candles themselves long gone, to serve as a lever, she wedged it in the crevice; pushing as hard as she could, she lifted the lid up. The altar cracked open; Jade caught her breath before pushing the lid even farther to reveal a metal box built in eight quadrants. Four trigrams on the top and four different ones on the bottom dominated the strange box, which looked exactly like the illustration for it in the book.

Jade reached forward to pick up the box, and as she wrapped her hand around it, her hands still aching from her dream became uncomfortably warm and the dull ache became pins and needles sensation like her hands were falling asleep. Jade didn't like touching it. Not sure what to do with it, Jade tried pulling it open, pounding on one of the trigrams, but it was only when she gave the box a twist that the trigram popped up.

That quadrant of the box became raised, revealing the inside of the box, which was a glowing green sphere. A beam of light shot forward, showing a picture of Tokyo, Japan, and the words to the side hinting at the location of the Demon Gate for Po Kong, the Demon Sorceress of the Mountain.

_What has a mouth but doesn't talk,_

_Always runs but never walks._

Jade let out a sigh, "I really need to get myself a plane. All this walking is killing my feet."


	4. Chapter 3

Demon Sorceress of Fire III

_Jackie Chan Adventures doesn't belong to me, not the premise, the characters, the world, or anything else I could make money off of but I'm going to keep on writing anyways._

Jade stretched her hands high up in to the air, trying to work out the kinks from sneaking in to that private jet in Beijing. It had been a near thing slipping in to the passenger's luggage, dumping the contents in the trash and then fitting her small frame inside the rolling luggage to fly over to Tokyo. The plane had been chartered by an automotive factory owner with Hana Fuda Motors, trying to drum up business in foreign markets, a result that he hadn't been successful at to hear him talking. It came as a relief when he stowed his luggage overhead and for a little while she thought she'd have a break from the annoyance. There in the dark, Jade couldn't help but fall asleep having this brief time where she could relax after she'd done traveling on her own. Jade's dreams, peaceful for once, were ended abruptly as Jade thought was woken up by the little man who wouldn't have even come up to Jackie's chest as he opened up his bag revealing her location as the overhead intercom talked about coming in to a landing.

"What the heck? Why is there a little girl in here? What kind of flight is this?" The little man shouted waving his hands in the air.

A little groggy after so rudely being woken up, Jade realized that there was no good way to handle this situation and not have herself handed over to the authorities as a stowaway and illegally entering the country. Grabbing her passport when she'd bolted would have been really useful at a time like this, could have bought a ticket. Now that she was spotted she was going to take some action, not wanting to parachute out while the plane was still in its descent, Jade decided to hold the man hostage till they got to the ground. Jade fell out of the compartment landing on her hands and knees, her sunglasses falling off her face to reveal her glowing red eyes. Two old men playing cards near the cabin entrance and the flight attendant were also in the cabin and stared at the strange girl that had suddenly appeared before them. Jade couldn't blame them, since the time she had picked up the Pan'ku box Jade could feel that her body was still changing even if it wasn't on the surface where others could plainly see. Her eyes alone were enough to bring the men to their feet.

Jade grabbed the man and shoved him to the ground and barked out to the others, "Everybody stand back. Nobody say a word until we land and there won't be any problems."

Everyone stood still except for the man she'd knocked back who looked like he was one step from crying if she pushed him again. It was a tough twenty minutes until the plane landed and everyone did as demanded and didn't say a word. When the plane finally touched down and rolled to a halt on the tarmac, Jade climbed on to a chair to grab her trusty backpack, and slipped her sunglasses on before she fled out the hatch.

In the stillness of the moment one of the men couldn't help but state, "You were overpowered by a little girl."

"Oh shut up. She was obviously a crazed political refugee. Now let's go home and never talk about this again."

Jade ran along the runway, keeping an eye out so she didn't get crushed by a landing aircraft and made it to a terminal entering the main hub of the airport. In the press of a large group of people, Jade carefully moved through the airport, sneaking past the guard at the customs desk. Jade was doing pretty good until a baggage cart cut her off and she glared at it. Her sunglasses slid down her nose allowing her eyes to be plain to see. The woman pushing the cart let out a gasp in surprise at the sight and Jade tried to smile but it was strained and far from calming the woman down she looked even more upset. Not that Jade thought they could hold her long, even before taking down Shendu she had a talent for being an escape artist but she ran off before the baggage lady could call the attention of even more people. Escaping to the parking lot and sneaking in to a car's trunk had been child's play after that.

It had been nine days in China and another three here in the outskirts of Tokyo since Jade had located the Pan'ku box and after all this time Jade was of the opinion that she didn't like having the thing on her. At first it had seemed like just a small thing, her hands getting uncomfortably warm when she held the key and map to the Demon Sorcerer's gates. She thought it had been guilt or stress at first making her sweat at the thought she would be releasing an ancient evil.

Now Jade knew it had to be something more because she couldn't stand to touch the thing for a long period of time. Jade had picked up a backpack during her journey, wrapped in towels and carried the bag in one hand, the bottom occasionally dragging against the ground. The indirect contact seemed to be helping and a rash that had developed after two weeks of holding the Pan'ku box on Jade's hands had faded in a few hours after she had placed it in the bag.

"What has a mouth but doesn't talk, always runs but never walks…" Once again her thoughts returned to the riddle, during the last couple of days Jade had thought long and hard about the riddle from centuries ago and the map she had glimpsed and tried to recall any other hints or clues from the map that had appeared that could help her. Nothing was coming to mind, "A statue maybe? Aurgh, did the makers of the Pan'ku box want the Demon Sorcerers to be free or not? Would they use landmarks that wouldn't change or even if they did history would be sure to document it? How close do I need to get to open a gate? Do I have to shove the Trigram in a slot or will the box just open up like it did when it revealed the riddle? Is one twist all the others will take to get me directions to learning about the demon portals? It's almost hopeless. What happens if I have another memory before I get to the portal?"

Jade kicked a rock down the road in frustration at the end of her rant and as it skipped across the surface of the pavement it made her feel a little better. With no other hint to go on Jade decided to follow her gut. Speaking of which…

Looking around Jade couldn't see anything that looked like a restaurant within sight, after having explored the outskirts of the city to travel deeper in to the different districts of Tokyo, looking for ancient statues that might have some connection to Po Kong. Jade was able to visit several shrines looking for statues that appeared to be running and with open mouths in the process of talking. Most of the shrines were dull, the only thing guarding them being old men waving to the shy girl and sweeping the dust from the path. Unlike the shops in China, Jade felt no ill will from these men and after dropping a coin in a box for thanks she would go on her way.

The latest shrine she had arrived at bore a menacing aura around it that made Jade feel very uncomfortable. Feeling the risk was a sign that something worth guarding resided at this place, Jade decided to investigate further.

Stepping under the wooden beam arching across the path, Jade heard the raucous call of birds as two crows descended upon her head. Letting out a little shriek, Jade batted at the birds, unable to hit at them for a brief moment till a lucky swing connected and sent one of the crows down to the ground. The other crow flew down and protectively stood in front of its fallen brother cawing at her as though she could understand its vulgar insults. Jade waved her hands at them, "Okay, that was unexpected. You get points for originality but stay out of my way and no one gets hurt, you hear me?"

The crows continued cawing at her until the fallen one got back to its feet and the two birds flew away towards the direction Jade assumed the shrine was at. A little embarrassed by how she had behaved, Jade looked around to make sure no one saw that and gratefully didn't see anyone. Her dignity safe for the time being, Jade followed the path as it meandered through a wooded park area till it reached a flight of steps going up the side of a hill where the trees were thickest. Replacing her embarrassment from before was quickly being replaced Jade's annoyance as she wondered when she'd ever make it to the Shrine. Climbing up the steps, Jade arrived in a clearing with a large stone path leading to the middle where a building with a pillar of smoke steadily exited out of the chimney. The feeling of wrongness that had intrigued her interest in the beginning was so much worse and Jade wondered what was causing this feeling.

Beside the main shrine there were also a couple of booths with a couple of the locals around the high school age were looking at various charms and talking about how hard a test had been and how the boys in their class were so immature. Jade could hardly pay any attention to the words as she was far more interested in determining if the gate was here and getting out as soon as possible. Seeing a statue of a dog in the motion of running, baying as if part of some glorious hunt, to the side of the building Jade drew closer to it searching over the stone looking for Po Kong's trigram or any hint around the statue but no demon portal was revealing itself. Jade saw an old man sweeping the path, similar to the ones she had seen previously but while the ones before had seemed like doddering fools this one seemed unusually tense. The old man set down his broom and begin talking to the girls she had ignored previously. Witless girls, Jade couldn't see anything special about them and the giggles that soon followed made her grimace, her inability to connect with other girls like that had made it far too easy for her be in the wrong crowd before.

Jade figured she had wasted enough time here when a shrine maiden with long black hair that went past her shoulders pulled open the doors to the shrine, revealing a glorious flame that burned as brightly as a bonfire and the heat from it made Jade break out in a sweat and even though she was wearing her sunglasses she held a hand in front of her face, shielding her eyes. Jade wondered how the Maiden could act like she was only next to a small campfire, but her actions had attracted the woman's attention and Jade felt a shiver run along her spine. Jade didn't know who this woman was but one thing Jade was willing to bet on was that unlike the others this maiden was the real deal. The woman yelled out a word at Jade and looked ready to murder her.

Figuring that was her cue to leave, Jade attempted to run back the way she came only for the old man to block her path, his humorous expression gone as he bravely shielded the high school girls. The vacant stares of the two who only looked at her with confusion, as if some sort of impromptu play had just begun and they didn't know how to respond. The old man shouted something in Japanese that Jade didn't understand, whatever it was the sense of danger that warned Jade when she was in over her head was screaming at her that she did not want to try and go through him.

Jade turned back around, thinking she could go the other way but the Shrine Maiden, even in her traditional gear with white top and red ceremonial pants had closed the distance between the two and placed a slip of paper on Jade's forehead. The light from Jade's eyes grew in intensity even as Jade felt an overwhelming sensation of vertigo strike her like she had just gone through the worst roller coaster ride of her life. Her glasses fell off and demon red met the priestess' purple eyes, and Jade let out a shuddering breath. The maiden appeared to relax when her ward had been applied, for some reason Jade didn't understand but not wanting to waste this lucky break Jade hit the woman in the gut, driving the wind from her and almost throwing up herself from the motion. A strong sense of vertigo fell upon Jade as if she was trying to stand still but the world was moving around her. Feeling as if she was about to lose her lunch, Jade ran to the woods, ripping the paper from her forehead and despite the voice of the maiden yelling behind her, Jade was able to escape without being further molested.

Jade went to a nearby park to rest and recover from whatever had been done to her before sitting in a swing set, "Japan is crazy."

Jade realized that with what she knew right now, going to every shrine where she could deal with another fight like that, was too big of a risk for her to take. She needed to come at this from a different angle and think outside the box. Statues were probably a dead end, and if she remembered right, the mark on the map had appeared closer to the water but Jade had thought she'd covered all the possible candidates closer in. With statues being a dead end it was time she got back in to down town Tokyo, going from her current location, getting to some kind of beach would take her an hour with the metro system if she could even figure it out. Her ability to understand the local language was non-existent and Jade didn't want to get lost, that meant walking but that could mean she would be spending the rest of a pretty poor day already being just a little bit worse. Jade wondered what she was going to do when she heard a bird tweeting and it had her feeling that disconcerting sensation of falling in to a memory.

"Silence," Jade shouted in an attempt to scare the bird away but the strategy proved ineffective and she could feel her strength draining from her as her grip got slack. Falling backward, Jade fell out of the swing and hit her head on the ground, the pain causing her to focus for a moment but the respite was to brief and unable to get to her feet to escape the song, she passsed out.

Coming to her senses, Jade found herself in the bottom of a valley, the deepest part taken up by a spacious open air amphitheatre with rows of benches that went right up to the stage and back on raised stands for several hundred feet so the place looked like it could hold thousands of people. Jade looked for the exit around her that had served her so well in escape in previous memories but this time there was no hint, everything around her was plain to see and made from white marble and the area around the amphitheatre was surrounded by a lush field of golden blades of grass as far as the horizon. The stage looked empty and Jade wondered what was supposed to happen now.

Jade didn't have to wait long and her eyes grew wide as Po Kong, appeared to climb out of a pit in the stages rear, an idyllic mountain view was painted on canvas in the background, the sun visibly moving across the cloth as it descended. That was when Shendu entered from stage left and sat down next to Po Kong, providing a sense of scale for Jade to work from and she noticed that the Mountain demon appeared to be half the size of the one currently imprisoned. At least if Shendu was still the same size as when she fought him and even compared to her own height Jade probably could have fit in the Mountain demon's palm without any trouble.

"What do you want Shendu? I don't remember asking for your help." Po Kong asked.

"I don't know if I should be grateful for that fact or insulted that you think so little of my powers. I earned my place as the Demon Sorcerer of Fire." Shendu laid back, propping himself up with his arms and staring off in to the distance.

"Your powers? I have only known you a short time brother but your strength is stolen from others. Xin was better suited for that role, and I curse every day that he did not prove the stronger of you." Po Kong reached around to scratch her back, her sharp claws digging in to her rock encrusted flesh and dislodging boulders that cracked in half as they hit the ground, one coming dangerously close to striking Shendu himself. The dragon paid the act no mind and continued to stare off, "That is neither here nor there, why don't you tell me about the invaders?"

Po Kong's fat face turned down in a frown, "They should be nothing to me, they are nothing individually but the Shadowkhan as an army are quite fearsome, nine tribes of monsters each one different from the other with strengths that complement each other and yet they want to claim this world as their own. Bits of shadow, they were easy to beat and for the last twenty years I have held them at bay but now their generals have begun to appear and it is too much to take on by myself. I expected the others to come, well not Bai Tsa, Tso Lan, or Tchang Zu but to only have you show up. It is bothersome."

"Do not presume that just because I am here that I will provide any help to you, perhaps I could make a deal with them in exchange for the use of one of their tribes serving me. Let them run riot on this little part of the world until they are no longer useful to me."

"Are you a fool Shendu? That is not the purpose for our existence as the Demon Sorcerers. This world is ours to rule and no invader is allowed to claim it. I should strike you down right now for such treachery." Po Kong lifted a hand up threateningly and this did what the boulders did not and got Shendu's full attention.

"Peace sister, I do not forget my duty but my kingdom rebels against me, turning to those with good magic to over throw me and I cannot afford to waste my time here if it will not profit me. You may cry for help again sister but I doubt anyone else will come, and if I am defeated you will have lost a strong arm to your fight. Surely it is not asking too much to make it worth my while?"

Po Kong raised her thumb to her mouth and bit down, black blood trickled from the self inflicted wound. Shendu mirrored her actions and the two pressed the bloody finger print on the others bodies, "The others inaction at this time is troubling, you may enslave one tribe to serve you, if you have the strength to pull it off but the rest are to be sealed and banished. This is my accord."

"A fair deal sister, allowing me the spoils of my enemies instead of your own, I will defeat the Shadowkhan and you will retain your hold on your kingdom upon my life."

The matter seemed to be settled and Jade was surprised to hear so much about the Shadowkhan. She'd always just thought of them as magic ninja's but apparently there was a bigger story there. Jade wondered what happened next but Po Kong had gone completely still as a statue while Shendu stood up made eye contact with Jade, demon eyes matching demon eyes and Jade felt the same irrational fear that had caused her to try and tear through a brick wall last time. Moving like a wild beast, Shendu charged off the stage and directly at Jade, but the stadium seating was working to Jade's advantage. Shendu's foot became wedged between aisles and thrashing about he tried to remove his offending limb from its trapped position.

Jade was more than willing to take advantage of the situation and fled outside the amphitheater in to the grassy fields all around her. In this setting, Jade would be the rabbit as Shendu hunted her down, even if he didn't appear to be up to speech at the moment, as he let forth a powerful roar that caused the grass to shake around him. Thinking hard of about the exit to the memories, Jade tried to will the door in front of her. There was no sign of it appearing anywhere and so Jade did the only thing she could and ran.

Jade quickly found herself in tall grass that was taller than she was. The sound of breaking stone and savage howls made Jade want to dig down in to the dirt and hide. The grass swayed in the wind, moving in her way and hampering her speed, and as she looked behind her she could see a clear path where she had broken through that would surely lead Shendu to her all the quicker. Jade looked around to try and get her bearings but she might as well be in the middle of the ocean for all the good it did her. Jade listened to the wind and tried to hear Shendu's approach but he was moving with an uncharacteristic silence and might as well have been a ghost. Ignoring the rustling of the grass Jade realized that there was a stillness to this land, like the tightly coiled spring of a trap. This feeling set Jade on edge but she couldn't afford to panic and she had to keep moving till she found her escape. Taking in a deep breath, Jade could smell the scent of a fire burning. With a direction to go towards Jade bolted, not a moment too soon as a clawed hand smashed in to the space where she'd been standing.

"No matter where you run you will be mine, Jade."

Weaving through the grass, Shendu tore at the ground whenever she stopped but it didn't seem like he was able to keep up with her as long as she was moving. Each time she stopped though the time before the dragon tried to grab her grew smaller and his hand got just a little closer to reaching her. Following the scent of the fire, Jade escaped from the grass and entered a well manicured lawn with a stone path going through the center of it and in the center of it was the shrine Jade had run away from only a few hours ago. Now clear of the cover provided to her by the grass, Shendu was running straight at her, close at her heels but when he reached the edge of the grass he stopped as though he had hit a wall.

Shendu bit at the air in annoyance and Jade wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Going behind the building, looking like a storm cellar was Jade's exit out of here. Looking closely at the door Jade could see it was padlocked shut but what really concerned her was that the door looked like it had seen better days. The wood was splintered and cracked, visible claw marks had gouged the surface and the paint was starting to peel away exposing the dark colors of the wood underneath.

Jade looked around for something to break the lock and nearby was a plot of ground with a stump and an ax wedged in. Jade pulled the conveniently placed ax only to see Shendu was pushing against the air, his hands slowly moving forward till whatever he was touching broke and the resistance was gone.

"Clever trick Jade, but nowhere near enough to keep me from getting what I want. Now die."

Jade brought down the ax, shattering the lock and pulling open the storm cellar door open, the light of her escape surrounded her. Jumping forward, Jade jumped in to the light even as she could feel Shendu's claws but an inch away. She could hear the sound of her hoody tearing before hitting the ground hard.

Feeling sore all over, Jade began to cough, trying to get her breath back even as she tried to get a feel for her surroundings. It looked like it had only been a few minutes since she had passed out, a kid her age was holding a soccer ball and nudging her with his toe. Jade let out a groan as she felt bruised and battered and pulling up her sleeves she could see her forearms had darkened to a shade of purple. The kid noticed as well and began to talk to her excitedly though Jade didn't have any idea what he was talking about. Jade stumbled to her feet and the boy tried to give her a hand up but she pushed the offered hand away. Statues were a dead end so Jade needed to work her way closer to the shore and figure out where to go next. The boy followed her for a few blocks away from the park but Jade refused to acknowledge his presence and eventually the boy stopped and headed back to the park. Jade was grateful for that.

Walking she was able to make it to downtown Tokyo the next day and wandered the streets looking for any sign that could serve as an answer to the riddle. Jade thought maybe a good view would serve her well, and she went to one of the tallest buildings she could find.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, consisting of a complex of three structures, each taking up a city block, the tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 48 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor. It was easy to get in as the observation deck was open to the public, with small gift shops advertising the building as the tallest in Tokyo and cafés selling coffee, tea, and all sorts of cakes, with all sorts of tourists snapping pictures. Jade got up to the top of building and looked out on the whole city. It was the afternoon, and she just stared out on the city for hours just taking in the view.

Jade didn't really know what would happen if she was successful in summoning Po Kong, what the demon would do to this city. Jade had fought against the Dark Hand enough times with Jackie to guess what a demon would do and it wouldn't be nice. Going from what Shendu had wanted to do when he had regained all the talismans what happened after the demon was freed could lead to the deaths of thousands of people.

For a little while Jade didn't want to have to worry about herself or the people she was endangering in this course of action and just take in the sights. The view of the bay was really nice, only a few structures made themselves distinct in the Tokyo skyline but none obstructed her view of the water. The time just slipped past her and in no time at all the sun was setting, making the clouds a glorious shade pink to a vibrant and fiery red before settling in to a soothing violet.

Caught in the simple joy of watching sun set but this was one of the few times where it didn't bother her that she wasn't doing anything. It was better if she just stood here and waited because if she did, she knew it was only a matter of time before Jackie would find her. Section 13 couldn't track her movements like they'd tracked the Dark Hand's but showing off the demon eyes while escaping airport security should have been enough to raise some flags.

Maybe if she'd left a map for them saying where she was going? Picking up a phone and calling them just didn't seem like a good idea, and Uncle would probably yell at her for the long distance fee. Granted Uncle was a cranky old man so he'd complain about water being wet and the temperature of his tea being wrong. Jade placed her hand on the glass of the observation window and just wanted things to be simple. No, she needed to find the gate first, stop herself from becoming a demon, and with the bigger threat of the Mountain demon Uncle wouldn't be so quick to zap her to that desolate wasteland with the other demons.

"Jade." Jade could feel a little something in her eye as she looked back to see Jackie standing there, wearing the same khaki pants and blue shirt he usually had on. Jade wiped away her tears and turned to Jackie. "Hi Jackie, you probably have a lot of questions for me."

_A/N Wanted this to be longer but this is as far as I'm getting at this point. Hope it was worth the wait._


	5. Chapter 4

Jackie Chan Adventures is the property of Jackie Chan and this work is a piece of fiction, any similarities to people living or dead are purely circumstantial. If it's a fictional person then I totally did that on purpose.

"Jade, I finally caught up to you," Jackie took a look at Jade, and right off he could tell that she was different. It was more than the fact that she was wearing a different outfit then she typically wore when she had been staying with him, the thin gloves and a pair of thick sunglasses, no doubt to hide the eyes that had raised so many alarms at the airport. What really stood out to him, though, was the fact that she looked like she had just been cornered by an enemy. Jackie had spent the whole flight over looking at that picture of her in the airport, trying to find some reason for all of this, other than what he feared, but faced with this behavior, the options did not look good.

"Jade, you're right that I have some questions, but I was hoping you would be able to give me some answers. Your parents were very worried when they called me."

Jade turned her back to him and continued to look out on the bay; Jackie could see by the curve of her shoulders that she was relieved by his words, even if it was slight. Whatever the reason was for running away like that, it must have been important to her, for her to be so choked up over this.

"Are they alright?"

It wasn't the first question that Jackie had expected to hear from his adventurous niece when he'd walked up.

"They're scared and confused Jade, wondering why you left." Seeking to comfort Jade, Jackie moved up behind her and set his hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, Jade moved out of the touch, shoving the hand away with one hand. Jackie was surprised by Jade's reaction to him, but let it slide for right now.

Before Jackie could say anything Jade spoke up, "Pssh, you left me first. I was just following your example; you know the one where if it's dangerous for them to be around me, I should abandon them."

The words made Jackie uncomfortable, but at least it looked like Jade was talking to him and not something else. Jade interrupted his chain of thought, "Listen, and this is really important, are the others with you?"

At the same time Jackie got out, "Jade, are you possessed by Shendu again?"

At that question Jade visibly flinched and her eyes turned down to look at Jackie's feet.

"Uncle Jackie, I swear that I am not possessed by Shendu, cross my heart and hope to die," Jade motioned around her heart with her hand, "but something bad is going to happen in this town in a couple of days and I need you to be ready for it. Tohru, Viper, Uncle, El Toro, even Paco the annoying punk. They were supposed to help you when I wouldn't be able to. When you faced Shendu he would have killed you if it weren't for me being there. I hate to admit it, Uncle Jackie, but you're going to need some extra muscle for what's coming."

Jackie was willing to admit that the fight against Shendu had been really close and that event had only made it clear that Jackie wasn't cut out for this sort of life. He hadn't asked for it but for some reason fate seemed determined make his life a dangerous one. Such an environment was unsuitable to raise Jade in and he had thought that letting her stay with her parents, though painful for him, was a far better choice then explaining to his cousins that they would never see their daughter again. The danger was over now though, Shendu defeated, never to return, and the Talismans back in Section 13 hands, at least until the next great evil came but why did that have to affect him, did the world not have other defenders?

Jade began walking around the perimeter of the observation deck and Jackie followed after her, "Jade, thank you for sending them to help me and with their help we took down the Dark Hand and recovered the Talismans. With Shendu gone and the Talismans back in Section 13's vault, everything should be alright. Now I want you to come with me to meet with Uncle so we can figure out what happened to you. We'll take care of this danger, whatever it is, together."

'Once we're done you're going straight back to your parents', Jackie added in thought.

"I already know what's wrong with me!" Jade yelled at Jackie, breathing heavily with her hands tightly to her side, "The reason I called the others and formed the J-Team wasn't because of the Dark Hand, I did it because I can't protect you anymore when you face the next demon. You really want to know what's wrong with me? I killed Shendu, but he wasn't just some warlord like Uncle said. He was part of a full set of demons and now that he's dead, all the others are clamoring to come to this world and take it for themselves."

"The new evil to restore the balance that Uncle was talking about?" Jackie furrowed his brow as he considered this latest piece of information.

"Kill one demon and get seven more trying to bust out – someone needs to tell Uncle the balance must be seriously out of whack. But what you really need to tell him is the Demon Sorcerers are coming. When I went to sleep after killing Shendu, I met them and they told me they were coming out. At least you're here, now I need you to talk to Uncle about Po Kong the Mountain Demon and how she was defeated. Get the other members of the J-Team if you can, but Uncle absolutely has to be there. He's just got to have an edge he can give you in case you have to fight her. She's coming out in a couple of days."

"Jade, what you're saying is crazy. Come with me and Uncle will fix whatever is wrong, you can trust him Jade."

"You need to listen to me, I can't trust Uncle." Jackie noticed Jade's hand grab the strap of her backpack as if she was considering showing him something. Jade seemed to come to a decision, but the conclusion didn't seem to fill her with joy, "No that isn't it, I can't trust myself around Uncle. Jackie, just remember this riddle to find where she is being freed:

_What has a Mouth and never talks_

_Always Runs and never walks_

"A riddle, Jade? What does it mean?"

"I was hoping that I would be able to figure it out by coming up here and getting a view of the city. If you can't tell me then I guess I'll have to keep on looking on my own. If I find an answer, I'll be sure to call you so we can stop Po Kong together. Figure out the riddle, and call Uncle to see how we can defeat Po Kong, he's our only hope."

Jackie could feel his heart breaking just leaving Jade to stare out at the skyline, walking along the length of the observation deck. Turning around to look out the window, she stared, looking at the river as it followed its course straight towards the sea. Even with her current behavior, Jackie stood next to her and rested his hand on her shoulder; this time Jade didn't try to push away the attempt at comfort, but tried to draw upon the knowledge of Jackie's strength. Jackie could see that Jade was deeply conflicted and wanted to run right there, to tell him the whole truth, to give him a hug but Jackie had abandoned her and some physical contact wasn't going to solve her problems.

Letting out a calming breath, Jade looked out on the city and the flow of traffic as tens of thousands of people went about their day, unaware of the danger that was coming. Thanks to her and her stupid desire to be in the action.

"Jade, please come with me, you're parents miss you." Jackie whispered.

Jade turned her hand in to a fist and shook her head in the negative. Letting out a sigh of his own, Jackie looked out the window and began repeating the riddle over and over to himself. Looking at one particular place in particular and Jackie slapped himself in the forehead.

"Jade, I think I got it. The river runs into the bay. The demon must be coming through somewhere in the bay," Jackie pointed to an ancient structure on an island in the middle of the bay, "there, that is probably where the Mountain Demon will come through."

"Are you sure Jackie? I don't have the time for you to be wrong."

"It makes the most sense," Jackie assured Jade.

"Thank you Jackie, this means a lot to me. Now you have to remember, don't come till you have a way to beat her, I'll stall her as long as possible. Bye Jackie."

"Jade, you can't possibly be thinking of fighting this demon by yourself. We need to stick together and go to the sight of the portal when Uncle gets here. If you think I'm going to let you go by yourself, you have another thing coming. I know you're holding things back and you may want to keep this information to yourself, but that doesn't mean that I can just let you be alone till this demon is supposed to show up."

"You think you can protect me now, Jackie? It's to late for that. Look." Jade pulled off her sunglasses and gloves to reveal her clawed hands and glowing red eyes. The skin on her hands looked bruised and Jackie wondered what could have possibly done this. Jackie grabbed Jade's hands and clasped them together; they felt warm cupped in his hands, though a little rough. Jackie looked in Jade's eyes and even with the hellish glow coming from them he could see Jade's eyes and the tears beginning to form.

"Jade, I know I left but you should always know that if you're in trouble that I will be there for you." Releasing her hands Jackie pulled Jade in to a hug.

"You're not listening to me Uncle Jackie, just like before. I don't want you to help me, I want you to stop me," Jade broke free from his hold and pushed Jackie away with a strength that surprised him as he barely stayed on his feet, "I would have preferred the stairs."

Jade threw herself at the sheet of glass and shattered the barrier, cold evening winds entered in even as the people around the floor began shouting and screaming at the sight of a little girl jumping from such a height.

"JADE!"

Jackie rushed to the edge and watched as Jade sunk her hands into the windows coming down, scratching several panes deeply and even carving through the stone face between each window, slowing down her speed. Some panes shattered and it looked like Jade wasn't going to be able to halt her descent, but finally she halted her momentum on a ledge halfway down. Jackie tried to take note of where Jade had re-entered the building, but as he entered the lower floors security was called on him quickly for trespassing. Jackie was able to avoid the guards' grabs as he worked his way downstairs, apologizing the whole way, but when he finally arrived at the right floor it was only to see the broken window and no further hints as to Jade's trail. Realizing it had been too long and that Jade could be anywhere in the building or even in the streets, Jackie made a quick move for the stairs.

"Jade! Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Jackie knew he was going to regret this, but he pulled out his phone and dialed up Uncle, "Hello Uncle."

"Jackie! What did you find out?" Uncle was always to the point.

"Section 13's information was correct, and the local police were of great help. I ran into Jade in Tokyo. She apparently spent several hours staring out the window of the largest building around. She looked so lost."

"If you will not tell me what's important, I will hang up on you now, Jackie."

Jackie didn't doubt for a second that his relative would do it either.

"Jade told me that she wasn't being possessed by Shendu, but she seems to think that he was part of a group called the Demon Sorcerers. She was insistent that a demon named Po Kong was going to come out in Tokyo any day now. Does any of this make sense to you, Uncle?"

"You expect demon possessing Jade to tell you truth if she was being possessed? You can be so foolish. I will do research but off the top of my head, Demon Sorcerers are great evil, and each one once ruled a portion of the Earth. Ancient tales stated that Chinese Immortals gained the key to sealing them away and each was successful in doing so, but Shendu was never sealed by them. Hmm, that must make him the Demon Sorcerer of Fire, there was debate that…"

"Uncle?" This was one of the few times in Jackie's life that one of Uncle's rants just trailed off, and this only made Jackie worry more.

"I understand, Uncle will be there tomorrow with Tohru. You make sure Demon Sorcerer doesn't run free till we get there. Fighting demon without proper chi magic is suicidal."

"Uncle, before you hang up, I need to tell you about what Jade did."

Uncle listened to Jackie as he talked about Jade's appearance and behavior.

"I will deal with Po Kong and then I will deal with Jade. Jackie, it is possible that Jade will be the one who frees Po Kong, it is best if you do not let that happen."

Jackie wanted to deny the possibility, but based on her actions and words from their last meeting it was a very likely scenario. Telling Jackie the riddle so he could give Jade the answer… he realized that it had been a bad move on his part. He had played into her hands; Jackie would have to be more careful next time.

* * *

><p>The night had been along one after Jade had made her escape but she had been able to find a classy hotel and stolen some bedding before taking refuge under a bridge for the night. Even if it looked clear tonight, some clouds might blow in later and she needed to keep warm, even if spring was almost here it was still a little chilly.<p>

When the sun rose the next day, Jade found herself on edge and unable to get back to sleep no matter how much she tried to block out the offending light. Despite not having eaten in three days, Jade didn't feel particularly hungry and abandoning her bedding Jade moved to a nearby park that had a good view of the island she needed to get to. From her seat on a park bench, Jade could see that a ferry was shuttling people out every half hour to the island. Jade didn't imagine it would be hard to get on that boat and get on the island. Sneaking on to the Dark Hand's private jet was much more dangerous and if she'd been caught the consequences would have been much greater. Jade wanted to go to that island right now, to release Po Kong, but she knew she needed to give Jackie more time to get Uncle here, even if every moment she waited only gave her another chance of facing Shendu. Maybe Uncle would even know what to do before things went to far.

Having nothing but time to think about what had happened so far, Jade thought about how reckless she had been tossing herself out of that window, she could have gotten seriously hurt, maybe even died. Jade always liked to think of herself as fearless, but coming up with that method to lose Jackie could have gotten her killed, and what if Jackie had tried to save her and jumped right after her? Jade would have had to grab his hand and make sure he didn't fall to his own death.

Were her actions because of what Bai Tza had done to her, or was she already losing to the dragon? Worrying about that would probably drive her crazy; the most important thing was that she had managed to get away from Jackie for now, she knew of a very likely place for Po Kong's demon gate, and just maybe if things went bad Jackie would be able to contain the Demon Sorceress of the Mountain.

No harm, no foul. She'd fool herself for a little longer on this subject.

* * *

><p>Jade had wanted to wait two days before she went to the island; by that time Uncle was sure to be here and it wouldn't matter what Jade or Po Kong did, that demon would be defeated like <em>that<em>. Jade was sure of it. Sitting on a park bench, Jade wasted half the day away before the characters on her arm began to ache and Jade gritted her teeth. Jade waited as long as she could but it only got worse, like someone holding tightly and squeezing hard enough to bruise. Feeling like she had enough she slowly began to make her way to the ferry even as the day began drawing to a close.

The trip on the boat over was predictably uneventful, the surf was light and the breeze was strong. It felt nice but Jade couldn't enjoy it too much, she had caught one of the last ferry's going out for the day. Tourists from the city, as well as a few that clearly looked like they were from America, were wandering the grounds and taking pictures. Standing at the brink, Jade refused to enter the walls and found herself a place near the pier so she could know when Jackie arrived. The pain had lapsed while she had worked her way to the island, but it returned with a vengeance and Jade wondered how long she could hold out.

The hours continued to pass and the tourists all got on the ferry and the pair of guards that had remained behind, did one last sweep of the grounds before heading to their shack for the rest of the night. Looking for something to stop the pain, Jade was relieved when she could finally hear the sound of an outboard motor coming close. Peeking through the bushes, Jade could see the boat was low as it dealt with the weight of its three passengers. With their arrival, Jade was surprised to notice that the pain in her arm was gone; Jade guessed whatever had been trying to motivate her had given up. Now that Jackie was here, it didn't matter; the people of Japan now had a chance to keep on living a normal life.

Jade waited till the three had climbed out of the small boat before exiting the bushes and placing herself on the main path to the fortress's front door. Jade hadn't expected to see Tohru with Uncle and Jackie and she seriously doubted Tohru would be able to even slow Po Kong down, but at least Jackie wouldn't have to do this by himself.

"Hi Jackie," Jade gave her trademark greeting. Uncle pulled out a puffer fish but did not go so far as to point it at her. A small comfort, though he probably should, "Uncle, did you find some way to take care of Po Kong?"

"I found spell used by the Immortals to imprison the demons, using this spell with symbols of those immortals are key to banishing them back to demon realm they were imprisoned in." Uncle admitted.

"Does it hurt? The spell?"

"That not important, demons are threats to whole world, they must be banished, that is the plan."

"Actually, Uncle, I need you to do me a favor and not banish the demon, at least at first. You can totally do it if she goes all doomsday and proves a threat," Jade stepped forward.

"Jackie, Jade is giving Uncle the willies."

At the same time Jackie was staring at Jade shouting, "Why would you ask such a thing?"

Jade couldn't hold it in anymore, "Because I'm turning in to a demon Jackie, they told me and I believe them! Unless I set them free and they teach me, then it's only a matter of time before I'm the one who's dead and Shendu's got a new, fresh, mint-condition body to run around in. I'll never be able to turn back if that happens."

"Uncle can help you Jade. There is no need for you to do this. Whatever you're planning, stop it and let us help you."

"I can't, the dreams are so scary, and they put something on me," Jade pulled up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal the mark on her arm placed there by Hsi Wu, "The longer I take, the quicker I'll change, and if I stop, will they ever let me wake up?"

Uncle's voice brooked no argument, "Jackie, Po Kong must not be allowed to go free. Jade, I do not know how to help you at this time."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Jade having felt like she'd said her piece, and ran towards the main entrance. Despite her small size, Jade was able to pull the thick gates closed behind her and dropped a solid beam of wood across just in the nick of time for the distinctive sound of Tohru crashing against it. The beam shuddered, creaked, and crackled, but it looked like it would hold for now. Jade knew that it wouldn't last for long against the man's impressive strength, and she didn't expect it would delay Jackie more than a few seconds.

Jade couldn't help but utter the words to herself, even if she couldn't say them to her family, "I have to do this Jackie, I won't die again. I mean, I didn't die, I killed Shendu. He's dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. He's going to stay that way."

Opening her backpack, she pulled out the Pan'ku Box and ran forward, desperately looking for some hint that would reveal Po Kong's gate. Jade knew she was in the wrong here, that what she was asking for was extremely selfish, but she couldn't afford to stay still and leave it for someone else to take care of. Whatever happened, she had at least given Jackie a fighting chance, and it was rare for him to disappoint.

Jade didn't make it halfway across the courtyard of the stone fortress until she felt a toy barrel hit her in the calf and caused her to fall on her face, the box flying forward. Falling to the ground, Jade looked behind her and saw Uncle Jackie had been able to get over the wall and must have used some item from one of the vendors stalls that were periodically spaced around the perimeter of the compound. Jackie was still showing off his speed and was running straight towards her.

Jackie really didn't want to fight Jade, but he couldn't trust her to do what was right at this time. "Stop this Jade."

Neither of them were expecting the box to slow down in its flight until it was floating in the air. The portion of the box with Po Kong's mark lifted up, revealing a glowing green orb of energy that fired a ray of light. The ray hit the arch stone over one of the entrances to the basement, and created a diamond face with Po Kong's trigram prominently displayed in the center. The box floated forward and Jackie jumped in its path to intercept it. Jade desperate to stop him from interfering grabbed the toy that had halted her own movements and threw it with all her might at Jackie to hit him solidly in the shoulder and spinning his body so that he could not get a hold of the Pan'ku Box. Missing his chance to catch the box, he could only watch as it then entered the mark like a key being pressed into a lock. The opposite end opened up, the four pieces shifting outward again, allowing the orb to reveal itself once again, and this time project a massive portal sixty feet tall by thirty feet wide.

A green claw the size of a van emerged from the flames of the portal to grab the edge of the portal's frame and pulled, the frame warped under her strength groaned even as a gigantic creature that was almost too big for the gate that had opened. Sucking in her breath and turning sideways, she squeezed through and let out a satisfied cry. "At long last, after centuries in imprisonment, I am free."

Po Kong the Mountain Demon was truly worthy of the title, as tall as the fortress, Jade thought she looked even bigger outside of that demonic prison now that she had some normal things around to provide some scale. Towering and wide, Po Kong reminded Jade of those old monster movies where buildings were regularly knocked down. Po Kong looked down and saw Jade and Jackie waiting for her to make her move. Not wanting to disappoint Po Kong addressed Jade.

"What's this little sister? Did you bring me a snack to celebrate my return?" Po Kong gave a chuckle that sounded like gravel sliding down a rock face.

Jade was alarmed by that thought and shouted back, "That wasn't part of the deal, Po Kong, and you know it! You're not allowed to lay a finger on Uncle Jackie!"

"You made no deal with me, little sister, only with Bai Tza. I won't be abiding by those terms."

Po Kong's matter of fact statement made Jade's stomach drop, "Po Kong, if you don't listen to me then I can send you straight back where you came from."

Po Kong seemed to find the very idea a great joke and her chuckle became a braying laugh. How dare she? How dare Po Kong be so short sighted to think that there wouldn't be any consequences for not abiding by the deal that Jade had bargained for. Would the others act the same way now that they thought her unable to complete her own goals?

"Little thing like you," Po Kong said between bouts of laughter, "isn't even worth my time to squash. Ending Jackie Chan though, the greatest threat to Shendu's rise to power, such a perfect opportunity I just can't pass it up."

Jade ordered Jackie, "Jackie, run and get Uncle now. It's the only way to stop her. I'll hold her here." The words were hardly necessary as Jackie was already running off the stone paths that crisscrossed the grounds separating flat areas of grass to head directly towards the door that had surprisingly stopped shuddering from Tohru's attempts to batter it down. What were Tohru and Uncle up to?

Po Kong, showing her might, moved at a slow speed, but the sheer size of her gave her a reach that almost had her snatching Jackie up on her first grab. "See how the meat scurries as it desperately tries to prolong its life."

Jade, desperate to protect Jackie, decided that there was only one weapon she had that might prove effective against the Mountain Demon. Jade ran to where the Pan'ku box had dropped scooped up the Pan'ku Box from where it had fallen even as Po Kong continued to pursue Jackie around the grounds. Her feet though smaller than Jade would expect for such a large body caused the ground to quake with each step and her powerful claws tore in to the earth. Breaking the grounds and tearing through the pavement Jackie was unable to just run away and had to dodge the demon's swipes. The earth was being shaped around him, boxing him in and seeing a well nearby that might help buy some time and dove in.

Po Kong would not be denied and put her own arm down the hole and pulled up with her might, tearing out a chunk of the ground, widening the hole of the well and destroying the masonry. Jackie slid further down the well, covering his head to prevent stray bricks that were falling all around him filling up the bottom of the well. Jackie let out his customary cry of bad day even as Po Kong again attempted to grab the archeologist. Completely forgotten by the Mountain Demon, Jade saw her chance and jammed the Pan'ku Box against Po Kong's side, praying something might happen besides giving her a rash. The box began to crackle before unleashing a mighty blast, causing Po Kong to stumble and fall to one knee and removed her forcefully tearing up more of the ground around the well and giving Jackie the exit he needed to get to the compound's entrance and remove the bar holding the door shut.

Pulling open the door with all his might, Jackie revealed Tohru holding a censor, letting out a stream of noxious smoke while Uncle was hopping on one foot and waving his blowfish. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao."

Uncle pointed his blowfish at the gift shop stand, where a toy drum lay, and a blast of magic enveloped the unassuming little item in a glowing green aura. "Jackie, you must strike the drum three times."

Po Kong could not get back to her feet but it appeared she had gotten her strength back, and looked to go after Jackie, Uncle, and Tohru as they completed the steps of the spell. Po Kong began to crawl forward but she came up short as she saw Jade stood in her sister's way, holding up the Pan'ku box threateningly. Jade's hands were slightly burned and smoke rose from them even as she was breathing heavily like she'd just run a whole marathon.

"Out of my way, little sister! You will pay for this interference if you continue this foolishness," Po Kong swatted Jade to the side, and her body flew through the air unimpeded till it hit the far wall with a solid strike before sliding down, "Leave now, little sister, and free the rest of the Demon Sorcerers before I shatter you and am forced to deal with Shendu in your place."

Seeing what had just occurred to Jade, Jackie used the time that Jade had so dearly paid for and he was pounding on the drum for all he was worth. The portal that had let Po Kong through only moments ago opened up again and this time a mighty wind issued from it, dragging Po Kong towards it like some almighty vortex. Po Kong refused to be so easily taken after her freedom was so recently won; calling upon her magic, she anchored herself enough to resist the pull. The winds only grew stronger, and now Jackie, Tohru, and Uncle were holding onto parts of the fortress to avoid being dragged in themselves.

"Uncle, do something!"

Pointing his blowfish at Po Kong's hands, Uncle blasted them, causing her to lose her grip and be pulled in, the gate closing instants after the demon was fully inside. The fight ended, Jackie looked everywhere to find Jade or the Pan'ku Box around the grounds, but neither was to be found.

"Come along Jackie, this is not over. I must do more research!"

"Uncle, that demon said some things about Jade, really bad if they're true. Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"I don't know, but at the very least we can protect her from the Demon Sorcerers."

"Thank you Uncle. Ow!"

"Now help Uncle get back to the boat. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

* * *

><p>That night, Jade didn't want to go to sleep. Using the Pan'ku Box the way she had had burned her own hands in return. Eventually she couldn't keep her eyes open and she closed them for just a moment, but when she opened them again she found herself standing on a floating stone platform. Surrounded by the other Demon Sorcerers, just as she had feared; Po Kong looked pissed, and was grinding stones in to dust. Jade looked to the others and all of them looked unhappy.<p>

Hsi Wu, wanting to pour salt on the wound, landed on Po Kong's shoulder, "How was your taste of freedom sister?"

Po Kong took a swipe at the impertinent flyer, but he was able to avoid the swing and fly off unmolested.

"I made a deal, and Po Kong wasn't willing to honor it," Jade complained.

A massive wave of water struck Jade and it took all her strength to keep herself from being swept off.

"Do you think this is a game?" Bai Tza shouted, "The only reason I have allowed you to live is because I thought you were not so stupid as to think yourself on par with us! Your betrayal of us is plain to see, and your punishment shall be final."

Tchang Zu seemed very excited and let loose a bolt of lightning that struck Jade and caused her to drop to the ground. "It's about time; I was thinking we'd have to wait until it happened naturally. Everyone ready your strikes."

"Wait! You touch me again, and you'll be the last person I release." Jade gave one last desperate cry. Tchang Zu ignored her and let loose with a bolt of lightning that dropped Jade to the ground.

"Looks like you're getting out last Sparky, unless someone else wants to make the same mistake you just made." Jade coughed in pain and Tchang Zu readied another bolt but his arm was grasped by Tso Lan. The two looked more then willing to attack each other but finally Tchang Zu shrugged dispelled the bolt in his arm.

All the demons stopped at that and Bai Tza examined Jade carefully, "What foolishness is this? Are you saying that you know how to use the Pan'ku Box?"

Jade, seeing a chance, decided to commit, "That's right, and what are you willing to bet that Shendu is going to have the same knowledge? That even if he knows it, he wouldn't use it to his advantage?"

"If you're lying to us…" Dai Gui spoke the words with such menace that Jade didn't just hear the words, she felt them.

"Then I get killed, but are you willing to risk it now and get your freedom in a random order, or do you want a little control over your fate?"

Tso Lan nodded his head, as a small secondary hand began stroking his beard, "Very well, a test; if you do not open the way for the demon you dealt with, then that night you will stand before us again and you will have out lived your usefulness permanently."

Jade had to ask, "Who wants to be let out next?"

"Obviously, it should be me," Hsi Wu argued.

"My turn next," Dai Gui raised his arms and looked ready to punch whoever disagreed.

"No, me!" shouted Tchang Zu.

Instead of continuing the pointless argument, Xiao Fung asked, "And what about Jackie Chan; can we expect him to be waiting on the other side of our gates as well?"

The anger that had been directed at Jade since her arrival in this realm only grew stronger at that possibility, "I can't say he won't be, especially since I have to travel internationally and if I'm going to do it quickly it's going to attract attention."

Xiao Fung nodded, "It matters not to me. Bring Chan and the chi wizard, I will escape them and establish my kingdom in the world once again. In return, I will teach you your heritage and the magic of the Demon Sorcerers, do we have an accord?"

"Teach me how to stop having these dreams and we have a deal."

"Of Shendu? Of his life? I suppose I could provide some help, done and I look forward to when next we meet face to face."


	6. Chapter 5

Jackie Chan Adventures is the property of Jackie Chan; any one who tells you I own this is a damn liar.

When Jade woke up the next morning, she felt like she had gone ten rounds with Tohru and each one of them had ended with him sitting on her. Jade was sure that most of this had to be from standing up to Po Kong last night, her entire body felt bruised and her hands tender from the burn caused by the Pan'ku box being used as a weapon. Add that on top of her memories of her spirit getting zapped by Demon Sorcerers and all of it left Jade wishing for some painkillers and more sleep. Jade vowed to herself that receiving this much pain in the future was a definite no no.

It was a small consolation that Jackie hadn't thought too much about where Jade had disappeared to after the fight against the Mountain Demon because if he had, he might have realized she was stuck there on that island until the morning when the ferry arrived. After the weeks of being on her own, Jade was firmly of the opinion that being without the resources Section 13 provided to help her get around was a total drag.

Not quite March, the chill air had forced Jade to take refuge inside the the fort where Po Kong's Demon Gate was and she had even tried an experimental twist on the Pan'ku Box before she had gone to sleep just to see if that was all it took to open a gate like it had for the Mountain Demon. That feeling of unease Jade had felt before when handling the Pan'ku Box had only increased as she was worried the box would burn her again. It hadn't but Jade wondered how long it would be until the box recognized Jade for what she was and burn her like it had Po Kong. It was looking increasingly likely that Jade wouldn't be able to do this all on her own. Beyond her fears of handling the box, manipulating it was causing nothing to occur, which made Jade happy to see the ancient key to the Demon Sorcerer's release wasn't so easy to figure out. It would be inconvenient, possibly even fatal, to face the demons with out some kind of bargaining chip to make up for the night's events. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the Demon Sorcerers were going to be pissed and there was no way Jade could avoid them until they calmed down.

The question had been did she try and figure it out before she collapsed from exhaustion and just tell the next demon they were up and hope they'd protect her from Po Kong's wrath or would she have to bluff and hope she could figure it out after. Sadly she hadn't figured it out and couldn't just make an appeal for a specific demon to protect her and had to bluff to get all of them to do it. Judging from how the other Demon Sorcerers had responded it had been the only thing stopping them from ending her and Shendu being reborn.

Now that Jade was awake and lacking in any direction on where to go next it was time to see if her guess was right. Was Jade going to release her savior or her executioner? Jade knew that just turning it randomly wouldn't be good enough and would have a one in eight chance of opening the right gate, preventing her own demise and those just weren't good odds. Jade considered the box, she took a closer look at the tri-grams and considered if they might be the clue on the proper way to handle the artifact. Other than those lines the box was devoid of any hints and the book Jade had picked up earlier hadn't been able to provide any clues as to the box's proper operation. Xiao Fung had told her what his symbol looked like, two solid symbols with a broken line on the bottom.

"The Trigrams must be the key." Jade mused to herself.

"If the broken Line is a quarter turn... and a solid line is a half turn...and guessing this is right side up..."

Jade twisted the box twice down the center and twisted the bottom to the left and the box began to glow as it lifted out of her hands and began twisting and turning in random ways to Jade's eyes. The box gave a final click before revealing a map showing the location of the next Demon Portal was projected in to the air. The map showed a mountainous area with Chinese words on the border of the projection.

"The portal to Xiao Fung, the Wind Demon, lies upon the seventh landmass, four million and one cubits above the southern hemisphere. Beyond the Black Forest, nestled between the Rolling Hills."

Letting out a sigh of relief that even success wouldn't be a failure, Jade gripped the box even as it began to heat and forced Jade to return the box to her backpack, wrapped in linen. Jade had a bargaining chip and win, lose, or draw the Demon Sorcerers preferred her over Shendu with that knowledge. For the first time in nearly a month, Jade felt a sense of safety that she had been missing and had deeply craved. When the morning finally came, Jade took the ferry back to the mainland and began her efforts in raising the 'Send Jade to the Demon Portal Fund'. Taking the proper steps, she could travel through the airport to the U.S.A. in only a few weeks.

* * *

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Considering Section 13 was on her tail, Jade had decided it was best if she didn't directly fly to her destination and flew in to Seattle. After that, Jade walked out of the airport and made her way to the train yard, and hopped on to a box car. She didn't particularly care where it went just so long as it lost whatever tail was on her from flying commercially. When the train finally stopped, Jade found herself wandering out to the main roads and looking for one of the local homeless to determine her current location. It was raining, so it took a couple of underpasses before Jade found out that she had arrived in Portland. Jade found the weather very fitting for her current mood coming in to town as the tension built within her to call Jackie again, building the closer she got to the Demon Portal. Despite her precautions, if she really wanted to be honest with herself she might even call it paranoia, Jade was expecting Section 13 to be waiting for her and grab her at any second but no one was there. "Maybe I should call Jackie and tell him where I'm going..."

Jade shook her head, in frustration as she kept going back and forth on if she really wanted to be stopped. Especially after what had happened in Tokyo where she knew that she couldn't just stay away from the demons and hope that she wouldn't fall in to those memories of Shendu. Her last one had been caused by birdsong, considering Shendu's long life, it wouldn't matter where Jade went or did because literally anything might serve as a trigger event and Uncle had already told her he couldn't help her now. Besides, Xiao Fung had told her that he would be more then happy to have them chase after him as he ran away. If Xiao Fung did that, who knew how long she would last before another one of Shendu's memories overtook her. It was getting harder every time for her to escape and Shendu was always just a little closer to catching her. Jade didn't know what would happen when he did but she was certain that she wasn't going to find out from first hand experience. Putting her thoughts on the matter to rest for at least the hundredth time, feeling like she was in the clear, Jade went to the bus station and got a ticket to Black Forest, Colorado. It had taken some conversions and a long look at an atlas but that seemed like the most likely place to go and had corresponded with the map the Pan'ku Box had shown.

It would still be several hours till her bus would show up and wanting to stay out of sight, Jade went to a nearby alley and was surprised to see it was currently being occupied. The girl was older than Jade, looked to be in her mid teens, dressed in an old pair of jeans and a stained t-shirt promoting some band Jade had never heard of.

"Hey kid, you got any food?" the girl asked.

"Yeah." Jade dug out a couple of apples she'd acquired the last time she had wandered in to a supermarket. Jade tossed one of them over, watching as the girl barely managed to catch it and eat it as quick as possible. Jade looked at her own apple and realized that it had been a couple of days since she had last eaten herself but the fruit held no interest for her. Jade expected to be hungry but it was the absence of hunger that was really starting to bother her.

"My name's Zoe, originally of California, and you?"

"Jade, from Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong? Wow, you must have some crazy story about how you managed to get all the way from there."

Jade thought about lying to Zoe but really she didn't see any harm, telling stories about her amazing exploits had always been met with disbelief from whoever she told. Whether that was her classmates, teachers, friends, or parents but it would be nice to talk. The time passed as they shared their stories of how they got to Portland and where they would go next.

"I'm thinking east to New York, it's not as impressive as traveling the whole world with a super secret organization to bring down magic ninja's but who knows, maybe I'll run in to ninja turtles getting pizza."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'd tell you where I'm going but then I'd have to kill you." Jade laughed Zoe off.

"Spoilsport, you know if you wanted to come along with me, I wouldn't turn down an interesting person like you." Zoe said before stiffening, "Crap, he found me."

Jade looked out the alley and saw a thin man with brown hair wearing a black jacket with the emblem of the U.S. Marshals. Zoe got up to run away but the Marshal had gotten to close and grabbed the girl by the wrist, before she could start moving, berating her, and pulling her to where Jade assumed he had parked his car.

"I'm not going with you Jack!" Zoe yelled back at the who after getting a hold of the girl began pulling her from the alley and berating Zoe.

Zoe attempted to resist the treatment and break away but the Marshal was to strong for the runaway. Feeling for her, Jade got to her feet and thought about helping Zoe escape, the Marshal must have noticed as he said, "Look I don't know what you're doing here but I need to get this girl back to her mother and if you don't stay out my way I'll have to arrest you for interfering with the return of a runaway."

With that threat, Jade made up her mind and before either Zoe or the Marshal knew what was happening, Jade let out a cry and jumped at the man and with a kick that sent him sprawling, causing him to release his hold on Zoe. Zoe's mouth dropped as she saw Jade climb on top of the Marshal and proceed to pummel the full grown man. Those blows were leaving an impact, the flesh became bruised and swollen, and a small cut on the marshal's face blinded the man from the blood flow. Jade's heart was pounding so hard and she was so focused how well she was doing by protecting Zoe, that Jade would have kept going if it weren't for the brick that hit her in the side of her head and drove her off the Marshal.

Jade looked around to see who the culprit was and could hardly believe her eyes when she saw Zoe standing protectively over the Marshal, her breath ragged and tears leaking from her eyes, "I told you to stay the hell away from my dad you little monster!"

Jade shook her head, had Zoe been saying something? Jade had been so caught up in the moment that she wasn't sure if she had and after all, the Marshal had served as a great outlet for her frustration. Suddenly Zoe's words clicked in Jade's head, "Wait, this guy's your dad?"

"Yes, he is, and I'm not going to let you lay another finger on him. Get out of here Jade, I don't want to ever see you again." Jade felt an anger welling up inside of her, she had just been trying to protect Zoe from being taken away by her dad to a place she obviously hadn't wanted to go. Jade's fist tightened reflexively, it would serve Zoe right for hitting Jade like that, Jade was a demon so she could take it but there was no way Zoe would know that. Jade realized what she was about to do, what she had just thought, and her face paled as the anger drained away only leaving her the sensation of a sick stomach.

"NO!" Jade didn't know if she was talking to Zoe or to herself, "I'm sorry this happened Zoe. I hope your dad is alright. I'm sorry we couldn't be friends."

Zoe lifted her brick up, "I don't know if what you were telling me was true but I do know that you're a monster. Go away, leave me and my dad alone. I never want to see you again."

Jade ran away from the bus stop, Zoe's cries for a doctor following after even as her words echoed in her ears. Jade wanted to deny them with all her might but nothing she thought of could convince her she was in the right.

Jade abandoned her tickets, threw them on the ground, and went to a nearby truck stop. Deciding that the bus wouldn't serve her well right now, Jade began talking to the drivers and determining where they were taking their cargo. It wouldn't be direct but this was looking like her best option, better than walking at least, and she sneaked aboard the containers and hitch hiked her way to Colorado on the semis.

* * *

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When Jade arrived at Black Forest, Colorado, the only structure of note she could see was a prison. Jade circled the building for the day, hoping that gates didn't have to appear on man-made structures and that one of the many trees might be what she was looking for but so far she was coming up empty. After the sun had set, Jade was almost ready to bite the bullet and consider how the heck she was going to get in to prison when she discovered smoke from a nearby campfire.

Curious, Jade quietly approached since this didn't seem the best place for a camp out of the local Boy Scouts to be occurring. Peering though the leaves of a shrub, Jade was surprised to see one of the members of the Dark Hand tending to the fire. The camp was very sparse, only the fire pit, a small tent, and a delivery truck on the campground. Even though Jade could only see the back of him, she could tell it was the Chinese hit man, Chow. The leather jacket was unmistakeably his after all the run-ins they'd had. Jade was confused since Jackie told her that the Dark Hand had been captured and the talismans reacquired, so what was one of them doing here? Did this mean that by some quirk of fate that the Dark Hand was imprisoned here at this prison where the Demon Gate was? Had the Dark Hand escaped? Were the talismans still in the open? Had Uncle Jackie lied to her? Whatever the reason, this was one of the last people that Jade wanted to run in to.

The Crime Syndicate member appeared to be all by his lonesome, Jade knew she was stronger now than she used to be. Considering how much of a pushover Chow had been against Jackie, it shouldn't be hard for someone like her to take him down. The idea of what she would possibly do with him after she beat him up was too confusing. Really it would be smarter if she just walked away, got back to figuring out how to get in to that prison and find the Demon Gate.

"Hi Chow." Jade said confidently as she stepped out of the bushes and drew his orange tinted shades eyes to her own glasses. Chow stood and turned pulling a seven inch blade from the sheath on his belt, holding it in front of him, before he even realized who was there.

"Oh damn, Jackie's niece," Chow cursed before looking around frantically, probably to see if he could determine where her Uncle was at this moment, "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Just wanted to see how I measure up." Jade rushed forward and swung her fist in to Chow's side and watched in satisfaction as her small blow was ignored by Chow as ineffectual only for the man to let out a cough and almost drop his knife.

"What the hell? When could you hit like that?" Chow attempted to back away but Jade refused to give Chow the space. She lunged forward and this time it was her who reacted to slowly and Chow's blade swung in between them and hit her in the fore arm. Jade let out a scream as the blade cut her skin, blood flowing from the wound, and this time she tried to run. Cradling her injury Jade didn't make it three steps before she crashed in to a very solid person wearing blue pants and fell backwards. Looking up she saw the grim visage of Hak Foo looking down on her.

"Eagle plucks Salmon."

Jade was lifted up in the air, as Hak Foo's hand grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted up. Jade tried to struggle as her sunglasses fell off her and revealed her glowing red eyes. Hak Foo's lips tightened at the sight before he turned her around to show Chow.

"I'll be damned. The little girl got possessed by Shendu again. Well you can't have my body Shendu. Here, take your talismans and leave the Dark Hand out of your business." Chow pulled the Rat and Tiger talismans from his pocket and showed them to Jade. As she looked on them she could feel the familiar pull in to her mind beginning, "No, put them away. Put Them Away!"

Hak Foo and Chow both looked at Jade in puzzlement as the fight completely went out of her as she fainted. Chow shrugged, "Quick tie her up, I don't know what's going on but I do know that if the girl is here then Jackie can't be far behind. Whether she's possessed by Shendu or not we need to move out of here."

* * *

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Jade opened here eyes and saw she was in a large stone building, the walls were covered with frescoes and stained glass windows. Each image depicted violent looking beasts and monsters chasing men and women cradling babes and occasionally a knight would stand between them. The light coming through the glass was bright and Jade turned her head to take in the rest of her surroundings and took notice of stone soldiers positioned around the room, holding their weapons and standing at attention in ranks. Some were the size of ordinary men but the ones that really drew Jades attention were the giants that stood on the edges of the wall holding weapons properly sized for them and their forms covered in metal armor. Jade wanted to get up close to one until she heard the snapping of a finger and then the large figure moved one of the stone doors open and the ox-faced Dai Gui came through with Shendu by his side. Curious, Jade followed the two wondering what secret they might reveal, Dai Gui slammed his fist in to the wall, shattering an offending fresco. "I don't care about your pointless treasure hunt Shendu, when I have bigger problems."

Shendu bowed his head deferentially, "Of course my brother, I merely came to help you and if I can freely move through your realm with out reprisal for my hunt surely that is no skin off your back."

"Humans are dying from plague, when they should be dying serving me. Bai Tza must be playing some part in this as revenge for that coastal city. That earth was part of my domain and if I chose to punish them for failing me I had every right." Dai Gui growled.

"Perhaps I could help you with that, but only if you allow me to roam freely, I would hate to have a misunderstanding with you like you had with our sister."

"Fine, don't know if its related but something strange is happening here. Fools keep on saying the statues are coming to life and breaking in to their shops, but they aren't mine, deal with it and you can look any where you want. Just stay out of my way." With a huff, Dai Gui led Shendu to the entrance of the building and pointed to a human that was shoveling the dirt around the building. "Take that one, he'll take you to where the statues are coming to life, while I focus on this plague."

Jade nodded, that was probably caused by the rat talisman running around and it wasn't hard to see Shendu coming to the same conclusion. Shendu followed the man in to the different parts of the city, staying close to the waterfront, Jade following behind like a shadow. Through out it all, Jade kept looking for her exit but nothing looked like it would lead to her freedom from this memory. Despite walking through what Jade imagines is a populated city, the place might as well have been a ruin as she couldn't see any other person beside Shendu and his guide. The guide had short black hair and was dressed in clothes that Jade would expect to see at a renaissance fair, every now and then he would speak some words in what Jade thought was French but she couldn't figure out their meaning.

Time seemed to blur and Jade wasn't sure if they'd been walking for only a few minutes or for hours when a roar came from the shadows and a blue beast of muscle and leathery skin, it's face pointed in to a beak with glowing white eyes, and attacked the Demon Sorcerer of Fire. Jade wanted to cheer the thing on even as it was barely large enough to be her own height and once the surprise wore off Shendu wrapped his hand around the gargoyle and smashed it against the ground. As the life went out of it, its color began to fade till it looked like an ordinary statue, if someone would sculpt a creature so its arms and legs would bend at odd angles, and in different places where joints would usually be. Cracks ran though out its frame and Jade felt a little sorry for the poor creature's fate.

Despite the threat being effectively dealt with, Shendu continued to pound the offending statue until it was reduced to unrecognizable rubble. When Shendu finally calmed down and took notice of his surroundings, Jade realized she was in plain sight of the Demon Sorcerer and it was clear that he had seen her out of the corner of his eye, slowly he began to walk towards her. "Oh no."

Jade, like a spooked rabbit, not sure where to go ran in to an ally, Shendu chased behind her through the streets of the city. The place was a maze of back alleys and dead ends but nowhere she looked could Jade find the door she wanted. Shendu was close and Jade was running out of options as she tried to make quick turns to lose her pursuer but that was enough motivation for the dragon to climb up the walls, his claws tearing in to the face of the buildings, and he leveraged himself up to a higher viewpoint. Jade tried to enter the buildings and lose Shendu that way but no matter how much she pounded and cried for help, they all remained locked.

Eventually Jade took the wrong turn and found herself trapped in a dead end, turning back around to find a different path, Shendu dropped from above and cut off that avenue of escape. Approaching Jade confidently Shendu reached out for her, "Did you really think you could get away from me Jade? Your fate was sealed on the Chinese New Year, now accept it."

"Never!" Jade looked to the side and finally saw what she had been looking for all this time, a green frame around a red door but the paint was peeling off and the wood of the door was bare, the surface clawed and shredded, leaving holes so a person could clearly see the darkness behind it. Jade despaired to see her exit so trashed and offered no resistance as Shendu got a hold of her. Shendu opened his mouth wide and swallowed Jade whole.

* * *

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Jade shook her head, trying to figure out what just happened, she had been recalling her talk with Dai Gui back when she had been hunting for the Rat talisman, a gargoyle had been the perfect clue for its presence in Paris at the time but Jade hadn't been able to locate it. It had been after that failure that Jade had begun to look for an easier way to track the talisman's magic whenever she drew near to them. Jade remembered that some of the gargoyles had escaped from Paris after that day to find a safer place to roost, some had gone to serve Hsi Wu while others became guardians for humans. Forming a pact that they would protect the humans at night while the humans would protect them during the day. Were any of them still alive? Had the magic granted their species by the rat talisman waned with each succeeding generation or had the beasts been sterile? These were thoughts Jade had frequently thought about after her unsuccessful attempt to acquire the power of the Rat, but they were also the first time she had thought them. Jade hadn't been around since 700 AD, she was much to young to have ever been running around at that time wasn't she?

Opening her eyes slowly, Jade found herself bound to a tree with thick rope, a fire burning in front of her, giving her the light to see the scales on her arms had turned green and the skin on her arms looked like it was ready to peel after a bad sunburn. Least what she could see, the arm that had been wounded had been bandaged, the thought made her grateful for the consideration. Chow and Hak Foo were on the other side of the fire, talking.

"So you never told my why you didn't just leave the rest of the gang to rot and try to make it big somewhere else. I mean for me, I'd have to start back at the bottom and sure they may be low life thugs but Ratso and Finn are good friends. I'm not the kind of person to abandon them if there's a way to free them. For you Hak Foo, you're a mercenary, a very skilled and expensive one if you were worth being hired by Valmont. You could be working for some sweet cash if you went south and worked for one of those drug lords."

Hak Foo nodded, "There is only one reason for staying around the broken remnants of the Dark Hand despite the forces that you were working with and that is because you have the greatest chance for me to fight Jackie Chan in true combat. The man is a worthy adversary, able to fight me to a standstill. The chance to gain victory will be a far greater reward than any amount of money I would accrue working for someone else."

Chow looked over to Jade and could tell she was awake, the glow of her eyes giving away they were no longer closed. "What about you? What brings Jackie's niece out on a night like this?" Chow asked Jade, holding the Pan'ku box, his thumb tracing the protruding trigram absently.

"If you must know I'm going to be freeing a demon from this prison." Jade stated.

Chow just shook his head, "Who are you? Jackie Chan seemed real big on fighting on the side of the law and Shendu was only ever concerned about his own scaly hide. Neither seems like the sort to be making you do that."

"My name is Jade Chan and I would prefer not to talk about it with you."

Chow was less than pleased with this, "Don't want to talk? Fine, whatever this is, we want no part in it, keep us out of it."

Jade responded in kind, "I can deal with that Mr. Shady Man, so if you'd kindly just make sure to stay out of my way and preferably in prison, everything will go just great for both of us. Now, if you'd just let me go we can both get back to doing something the other doesn't like..."

"No way little girl, what if you go calling Chan to come and stop us. Just cause you don't want the talismans doesn't mean that Section 13 wouldn't like the full set, as well as put me and Hak Foo away."

Jade says, "I would not." and struggles against the rope when Hak Foo picks up the knife Chow had been using earlier "Fisherman severs line," and sliced the rope binding Jade.

Jade, grateful for the unexpected turn of events could help but ask, "Why did you do that?" while Chow objected over cutting the rope, "We were going to use that Hak Foo!"

Hak Foo expressed his thoughts, "The girl is trouble but there is no reason we can't work together, we can get the box inside if that's what Jade needs and the Demon whether actively or not, will aid in the confusion and provide an opportunity for Valmont and the others to break out as well."

Chow sighed before admitting, "Its worth a shot and the risk on our part is a lot lower but Valmont isn't going to like it.

Hak Foo only allowed the corner of his mouth to come up in a faint smile, "Perfect."

* * *

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Hollow Lands Maximal Prison was a very rough place, this was not where the tax evaders and the pot smokers served out the terms but instead it was populated with some of the most violent and vile scum of society. Murderers, Rapists, those who had been judged as to violent to properly integrate in other prisons called this place their home. Valmont held no illusions about the odds of building a coalition of power from these ranks, as every one of them was in this place because at some point they had overstepped and been captured by the law. It galled Valmont to no end to now have to count himself in their number and know that some of the inmates were former competitors, some of those considered the fall of the Dark Hand to be quite humorous, and thought they'd show themselves strong by attacking a broken organization that had driven them to their own fall from power and claiming whatever spoils were left. The situation wasn't optimal.

Valmont's imprisonment with Ratso and Finn was a concession that Valmont's lawyer had won for him though Ratso and Finn hadn't liked the idea at first. They'd hoped to get sentence's at less secure prisons but Valmont had convinced them there was still the hope that Chow or Hak Foo would be able to break them out the illegal way, and even regain the talismans that would help them rebuild their former glory. Just as long as Valmont could make sure there would be no more interference from Shendu and going back to fighting Section 13 from the shadows. Until those two members of the Dark Hand figured out how they would bust out their former boss and cohorts, Valmont would just have to bust big rocks into smaller rocks as they bided their time. Perhaps today would be the day when freedom would arrive.

Valmont's first hint that this may be the case was after weeks of waiting, he was told he had a visitor. Careful not to let anyone else see the glee he was feeling, he went to a cordoned off area where booths were set, containing a thick pane of glass and a phone so an inmate could freely speak to the person on the other side as well as have said conversation recorded for the criminal justice members to use as evidence.

Valmont did not recognize the woman on the other side, but than every time she came he never did. She had blond hair and blue eyes this time and was dressed in a demure blue dress that wouldn't have been out of place for someone heading to church. Different from the raven haired shrew she had been two weeks ago to inform him of the state of the Dark Hand now that it was leaderless. That had been a frustrating day when he had received that bit of news. Picking up the phone at the same time the woman spoke, "An old friend wants to send you some mail but the people at the office think you shouldn't give away your address. They said that they'd leave the final decision up to you."

Valmont let out a breath, straining to control himself, there had been a time when he had been as calm as ice but that may as well have been a lifetime ago, "I'd hate for that to happen but if it can't be helped give him the address. Getting back in contact can't be worse than my present company."

Valmont applauded the woman's professionalism as she than began to talk about nonsensical things for five minutes about how her family was doing and how her son was sad to hear Uncle V wouldn't be sending any more Christmas presents. After that the woman stood up and walked away leaving Valmont to ponder his next move. His options were limited, a prison gang had recently taken notice of him and while his combat training and enforcers helped protect him it would only be a matter of time before he was cornered and Valmont, the greatest criminal of this age became some two bit crook's girlfriend. Valmont's long hair had led to a few attempts by the more solitary brutes already.

Chow and Hak Foo had been discovered by Shendu and for whatever reason that traitorous lizard thought it could come crawling back to him, well Valmont would have some words for the demon when he was free but that would have to wait till the were face to face in a bar free environment. Valmont wondered how the demon would release him, perhaps Shadowkhan would appear and take him and his men through the shadows to where ever Shendu was at. It would be the simplest form of rescue but the message had talked about the mail. Whatever was coming would go through that route and just to keep some of the stickier fingered individuals from walking away with his key out of this hole, Valmont would pull some strings and get him and his men on to mail duty tomorrow and receive the package right away. Considering the source of this gift would be coming from Shendu, Valmont was willing to bet it was going to involve magic in some major way. That dragon was certainly focused on that more than any type of mundane technology that could possibly lead to freedom..

Valmont, Finn, and Ratso were dressed in prison orange and working in the mail room, sorting packages as trucks came in to take and receive. Valmont raised an eyebrow when the second truck of the day was driven by Chow and Hak Foo, wearing the brown shorts and shirts of a delivery company. Unable to ask them any questions without drawing the attention of the guards, he was forced to watch the two as they used a dolly to wheel out all sorts of boxes, setting them down and almost as an afterthought, putting a small box on a table to the side of the pile before climbing back in the truck and driving away. Valmont picked the box up and went to an out of the way corner under a security camera and searched the contents. Inside he saw a peculiar box, it appeared to be made out of metal and painted blue with the silhouette of the box stamped in yellow on each side of the box. The middle of the box was wider than the top and bottom panels and in the corner of each panel was a different symbol, each three lines alternating between a solid line and a broken line. One such symbol was sticking out of the face of the top plate, and a note that simply said, Carry around the prison until it opens a door and make your escape with what comes out.

Ominous but Valmont had no choice but to trust in his own instincts and, barring an appearance by Chan, whatever this was would likely guarantee his freedom. Willing to take the risk, there were still certain areas where it was impossible to go, Valmont just had to hope that one of them would walk past the right place to activate this strange box before they were pressed to go in those areas. In order to increase their odds and not show any change in their typical behavior to the warden and guards, Valmont carried the box the first day and did his regular movements before handing it off to Finn who handed it off to Ratso.

After three days, Valmont had not been particularly hopeful of Ratso chances and had begun devising plans that he could use to get in to solitary with the box and even the Warden's office. It was for the best that these scenarios didn't progress to action since accomplishing them would have led to someone receiving a beating for bad behavior from the other inmates. They were made moot by the fact that Ratso found the location the box would activate in the laundry room, the moment he noticed it beginning to glow, Ratso jumped back and stashed it in the corner of the room while he got the others. During their lunch hour, all three gathered in the prisoner's laundry room and allowed the box to activate.

Not sure what to expect they watched as the box changed one of the machines, creating a odd symbol in the metal of the machine. Floating freely, the box connected with it's created lock and with a click, the box opened up and projected a green portal, the interior showing a red tinted horizon for a brief moment as a purple frog leaped through and crashed against a wall of washing machines. Seconds after the demon frog made it through the portal closed and the box dropped to the ground the protruding symbol receded back in to the face of the box. The machines were visibly dented from the force of impact and as Valmont took in the scene he was trying to decide which direction to run but then the unexpected happened. "Well this isn't who I expected to be waiting for me at the door, not even on my list of possibilities. Most intriguing, to think my freedom would come about this way, well let's depart and thank my rescuer."

Valmont lowered his fists, and with a quick motion to the others, Finn and Ratso followed suit. Finn was the first to speak up, "Look, if you go out like that you're going to cause all sorts of problem's big guy. You see we're in a prison right now and there are guards and guns all over the place. I don't know what you can do but there are some tunnels underground and if you could get down there we could just walk out of this place. Sound like a good move?"

The demon nodded, "Compared to my previous location, I am in paradise. Still, you make a good point about our current conditions, while I'm not as skilled with earth as my brother, I think I could try something. Follow me." Raising his hands in to the air he brought them down against the ground and caused the concrete floor to crack and crumble to reveal a pit in to the depths. Without a second thought the demon jumped in to the hole, Valmont was less willing to risk life and limb and instructed Ratso to make a rope out of sheets so they could lower themselves and Finn to grab the box.

As they slowly descended in to the darkness, Valmont expected to be mocked by the demon, or attacked now that they could hardly see in the darkness but nothing of the sort occurred. Instead they all made it down and after giving them a few minutes for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, the Demon began to lead them towards the entrance or at least Valmont assumed that was the case, there wasn't much point in leading them anywhere else. "We have not been properly introduced, my name is Valmont, I am a leader of the Dark Hand and was a business associate of Shendu. May I know your name?"

"A civilized man, always a pleasure to run in to people like you, I am the Wind Demon Xiao Fung, it is quite a pleasure to meet someone like you on this side. Many would not care to treat with demons, especially after having been wronged by one, even in the dark I can see your face and your tone is all too clear. You did not care for my brother Shendu, and for that you likely have good cause but if that is so, why do you aid his successor? Would you have not preferred to frustrate her so Shendu would return weak and easy to control and contain?"

"Shendu's successor?" Valmont couldn't help repeating even if it revealed his ignorance, "I was under the impression that I was still working with Shendu. Still the prospect was slightly better than spurning him before he'd broken us out of prison."

Xiao Fung's face became a little clearer as they reached the entrance of the cave and light spilled in. The demon was still ugly to look on but so far Valmont merely considered Xiao Fung as a minor threat to him and the Dark Hand. Valmont wondered what kind of man would serve as Shendu's successor and he couldn't help but imagine a man like Tohru or Hak Foo or even Jackie Chan. One of those men would truly be a terrifying sight to behold so it was something of a surprise what he saw waiting for him at the entrance for there was Chow and Hak Foo standing with Jackie Chan's niece. She looked different now, her clothes were dirty, her hair was ragged and long, and her eyes glowed demon red. Valmont would have laughed at the little girl playing dress up but considering how he had gotten where he was, he found the the will to restrain himself this time. Valmont had thought all this time that Jackie Chan was succeeding and receiving no injury for standing up to the Dark Hand but it appeared that he was not so lucky against Shendu. Valmont wanted answers but that could wait until they were long gone and the threat of capture wasn't so pressing.

"Well done Jade. You have rescued me and it appears you didn't bring the chi wizard to banish me." Xiao Fung grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs.

Jade was looking faint and looked on the edge of collapse when Xiao Fung blew from his mouth, a glow surrounding Jade as she was struck by it and in an instant Jade looked energized and focused on the Demon of Wind.

"Now that we have that settled, I believe we had a deal. I will teach you how to use your powers and even share a few spells you can do with the wind, protecting you from the memories, telling you about Shendu, and then after two weeks you may return to our brothers and sisters and determine the next candidate to be released. Does that sound right Jade?"

Jade bowed her head, "Thank you, I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out."

"I was quite surprised with your choice of allies this time, why did you not bring your Uncle?"

"I already asked for his help, he couldn't do anything. Since your talking, what exactly are you planning to do after teaching me is up? Are you going to devastate a part of the world like Shendu was?"

"I'm not so rash, I've been gone from the world for tens of centuries, I will spend a few decades finding out who is here to protect the planet and their weaknesses. I'm sure I'll find a suitable place somewhere. It will be something of a long game but I'm sure the winnings will be worth the investment."

"You know if you try anything I'll be there to stop you?"

"I think your meeting with Po Kong made that very clear Jade. Still if you decide to conquer the world once you discover your destiny, I only ask you set aside a respectable part for your brother."

"We aren't family." Jade stated firmly.

"This is all quite interesting," Valmont interrupted the two, "but me and my men will be leaving now."

"Wait, I could help you, at least when Xiao Fung's not teaching me." Jade pleaded.

"Jackie Chan's niece proposing to help rebuild the Dark Hand? Why should I ever consider such a ridiculous thing."

Moving with a speed that was quite impressive Jade crossed the distance between them hitting Ratso and Finn in the knees causing them to involuntarily drop to their hands to hold themselves up and she pointed a clawed finger at Valmont's face, "I'm strong and fast and if you help me I'll take on whatever debt you had with Shendu and repay it ten fold, but you have to take me around the world where ever I want to go. Seems a fair enough deal."

"Only in as much as I expect you to betray me just like Shendu did. At least with him, he was promising real treasure which he could show to me while you only promise yourself, no matter which way I look at it, a former enemy even if I don't believe you are Shendu. You will have to prove yourself first before I agree to anything and send you all over the world."

"Fine, but the quicker I can free the demons the better." Jade agreed.

The matter seemingly settled, the group of fugitives climbed in to the back of the van, and Xiao Fung stood beside Jade and nodded, "As we journey, I will teach you your first lesson Jade. First let us talk about Chi."


	7. Chapter 6

Traveling in the back of a delivery truck might count as one of the more boring things that Jade had ever done in her life, at least it would if it weren't for the company she was currently keeping. The fact that all of them knew she was traveling with them made it an interesting change of pace from when she usually traveled with Section 13 and Jackie. Xiao Fung sat next to her near the cab while Valmont, Finn, and Ratso took up the rear end of the vehicle. While the lieutenants had fallen asleep Valmont was keeping his eye on the pair of demons.

Jade put her back against the wall and was trying to fall asleep but she couldn't help but overhear Valmont as he began conversing with Xiao Fung, "You know I can't help but wonder how long until you do something that will make me regret ever having agreed to aiding in your release."

"A wise thing to consider since your service to Shendu ended on such a sour note. I'm sure that I could make all sorts of promises to you that you have nothing to worry about from me but we are also both aware that they would only be until convenience dictates otherwise. We know so little about each others plans and goals I don't think we could possibly know when you will regret my freedom." Xiao Fung responded.

"But you don't deny I will regret it?" Valmont sounded even more frustrated now.

"No." Xiao Fung sounded entirely to pleased with himself.

"And if I decide not to help Jade in releasing the other demons and she travels around the world at a very slow pace, fraught with uncertainty and hardship what will you do than?" Jade could practically feel the menace from that.

"Should she be stopped then the burden of my siblings would fall upon me. I would be displeased to shoulder such a responsibility but if she is so weak that she can not gain dominion over your broken band of thieves she will not last the times between our release." Xiao Fung stated strongly.

"Siblings?"

For a moment Xiao Fung hesitated, "It is an affection that Bai Tza perpetuates and little more, I assure you."

"I see, you have given me much to think about." Now Valmont sounded pleased for some reason, though Jade couldn't understand why, the two seeming to have gotten each others measure and let the rest of the trip pass in silence. With the rock of the van as it drove down the road, Jade finally fell asleep.

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When Jade woke up the first thing she noticed was that she was hungry. Scratch that, she was absolutely starving, what she would expect to feel after not eating in days but had been missing all this time. The hunger had all suddenly caught up with her, and she couldn't stop herself from letting out a low groan, as her stomach echoed her, and her body ached from how much she'd pushed it in the last couple weeks. Jade opened her glowing red eyes and saw that she was in luck, someone had left her a delicious piece of meat in the van. Jade picked up the well-cooked steak, even if it was a little cold now, and she tore in to it, devouring as much as she could until it was all gone and started to feel more like herself. Looking around even as bits of meat hung from her chin, she felt a little embarrassed as she wiped away the gristle and could feel Jackie's disapproval at her poor manners. Just watch any moment he'd turn to look at her and say...

"What a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Jade." Xiao Fung said.

No that isn't what he would say, Jackie had met Jade loads of times before and again everything hit her about her situation. Looking around she saw that she was alone with the demon frog. Jade had been kind of hoping that this moment would come for weeks now, where she could freely talk to a Demon Sorcerer but now that it had finally arrived she really wasn't sure what she should be saying. Honesty really was the best policy Jade felt, "Thanks for not turning on me like Po Kong did."

"Well I saw how well that worked out for her, bringing in a chi wizard to send her right back should she not prove willing to keep the pact that was made with Bai Tza. Did you think that if you made a pact with me that it would be any more binding?"

Jade grimaced, "I don't know, I hoped that would be the case but Uncle already told me that he couldn't help me. I figured even if you did decide to be hostile and try to back out on the deal than I would have already lost. Bringing Uncle would have made it a lose-lose. Wait, are you saying a demon's word isn't binding?"

"As binding as for any human, remember that Jade, it all depends on how honorable they are. Luckily for you I repay those who have served me well." Xiao Fung replied.

"So are you going to teach me your demon ways?" Jade asked in a flippant manner.

Xiao Fung chuckled at that, "I will teach you the basics of Chi of course and how to generate some wind, I doubt there will be much time left to cover anything else before I take my leave."

"What about protecting me from the memories? That was part of the deal, I don't think I can last much longer if they keep going like they have been."

"Really? To have survived the months you have so far since we first contacted you, you must have had some protection." Xiao Fung pondered.

Jade shrugged, "There was a door, in there. If I could get to it in time I could escape Shendu but its been harder to find each time, more damaged. I'm not sure how to explain it but I don't think it works anymore."

Xiao Fung nodded, lifted the door to the truck, and hopped out. Jade followed him to find that they were in a clearing surrounded by evergreen trees and just the two of them. Looking around Jade wondered where the driver was? It was really unlikely that Xiao Fung had driven them out here. "Ah, I suppose that would make sense, the chi wizard would have taken measures to bless his family with general protections from before your possession. Weakened the longer they remained with out renewal, I will have to see later just how effective it truly was, still it appears to have bought you more time than is typical for someone that manages to slay a Demon Sorcerer. An interesting method I had not considered before, still that is a minor matter. You are eager to get in to your training so the first thing you will do is remove that ridiculous bandage from your arm."

Jade wasn't sure how long they'd been driving but for a cut that deep, Jade didn't think the wound would have fully healed. She peeled away the bloody cloth wrap expecting to see scabbed skin but was surprised to see that the skin wasn't even marred by a scar across the green scales of her forearms. Jade flexed her fingers and moved the arm through its full range of motion, "Whoa, Chow cut me pretty deep and it's fixed already? No pain."

"Young as you are as a human Jade, you are but an infant of a demon and as such you will find that I got about as much enjoyment as you would hearing someone say they can walk."

Jade really didn't like the implications of that, "That's a little rude."

"The other thing you need to know is that as a demon, your body is producing demon chi which will allow you to tap in to your inherent powers and the more you tap in to your Chi the more your body changes. Thanks to Bai Tza's assistance you have become especially absorbent and you will start picking up on my Demon Chi as well. Do not be surprised and adapt is the only suggestion I can give you about the physical changes you'll experience. Now there's no time to waste if we want to get anything done. First, I must get you to recognize your own chi so go and gather wood from the forest and stack it up."

Jade did as she was bid and walked through the woods picking up branches, getting a big enough pile that it filled her arms. Jade was nervous that something in these woods would set off her memories but for some reason the woods were deathly still. Jade returned to the clearing and dumped the wood in front of Xiao Fung but he was decidedly unimpressed. Ordering her to get as much wood as she just had five times over Jade was forced to wander further afield as she scoured the undergrowth for suitable pieces of wood though for what purpose Jade wasn't entirely sure.

It turned out to be the obvious reason as Xiao Fung had gathered a portion of the wood off to the side and muttering to himself, he let out a sigh and just like that there was a spark in the midst of the tinder and in moments a healthy blaze was going. "You will sit perfectly still Jade and meditate until you can control the fire. Now begin."

"Control the fire? Control it how?"

"I'm sure you're a clever girl Jade, after all you figured out how to use the Panku box, so I'm sure you'll grasp this in a small amount of time."

"How long does it normally take people to learn how to control the fire?" Jade asked curiously.

"Well the majority of Chi wizards will never sense it but I suppose those with the inclination for it might grasp this lesson after three years or so. Of course they don't have the advantages that you have now Jade, control the fire. When you're able to do that you will be able to use your own demon chi and then it will be worth my time to bother teaching you anything else."

Jade sat there for what felt like hours but sadly when she peeked at her watch proved only to be a matter of minutes. Jade found it especially difficult because she had to tend the fire, giving it fuel at periodic intervals to prevent the flames from going out which ruined her concentration anytime she felt like she was making progress.

Eventually the hours did pass and Jade's pile of wood was completely burnt away. By the end of the day Jade was exhausted, even if she didn't feel like she had done much besides stare in to a fire, and her fire was extinguished.

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Valmont was happy for once when the truck pulled up to deserted sawmill in this remote section of woods near the Canadian border. It had been part of the original operations tended to by the Dark Hand but had been abandoned by the time Tohru had joined so it was unlikely that it had been revealed to Section 13 as a possible location to investigate shortly after their breakout. The sawmill had served as a base of operations for a prescription drug ring till one of the doctors got cold feet. He had been handled before he gave away any important information but his punishment had served as an ineffective discouragement to others and Valmont had been forced to remove their support. Shortly after that, the ring had been discovered by the Mounties and shut down.

Valmont had considered going back to San Francisco and starting up his operations at an abandoned fishing cannery that had served as a perfect shell company for bringing in human trafficking from Asia, but having a demon in the back made any populated area a bad idea. After the demon was gone, Valmont would consider his options at that point and perhaps he could even afford to abandon Chan's niece out here without any repercussions from Xiao Fung.

Valmont looked to Xiao Fung who loomed over the sleeping body of Jade. Deciding it was none of his business, Valmont directed the others to leave the truck and towards the Sawmill's offices, but the toad spoke up, "I have a request for you. Make sure a fire is kept for as long as we are here."

Valmont gave no answer to Xiao Fung but on the walk to the office when they were no longer within earshot of the wind demon he instructed Ratso, "Do as he said, take shifts in tending it and the others are free to do as they please while I take care of things."

Valmont isolated himself in the manager's office and got to the first order of business by calling his accountants to determine where he stood financially. Valmont had known it was bad from the reports that his prison contact had given to him but this news made Valmont want to shatter the phone as he discovered that of his legally obtained funds, everything had been frozen except for his Swiss account which appeared to have remained unknown and held a little over a quarter of a million dollars. A tenth of what he had first had when he had when he had begun his criminal enterprises and a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions he had enjoyed at the height of his power before getting mixed up with Shendu.

Having no other choice, Valmont called his informant to see who else was left to contact and salvage of the old operations. Contacting everyone was likely going to take up his week but if he could provide some leadership, it should cut down on his losses of his illegal earnings. Looking out the door Valmont could see that the others were beginning to settle in to the break room.

"Ugh I think something pissed on the furniture." Finn wrinkled his noise at the offensive odor.

"It isn't too late to get you back in to a clean cell." Hak Fuu shot back and considering his stone face no one was sure if he was joking about that.

"Nah, besides it looks like there's a SNES to play while we wait. Much better than making license plates any day. I call first." Ratso replied.

"Yeah right, you heard the boss, you're on fire duty so that means I get first." Chow sat down on the chouch while Ratso and Finn went to gather firewood. Hak Foo ignored the fools and watched the truck, waiting for the demons to make their move.

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It had been five days at the fire exercise, sitting out in the elements, day and night with no real progress when she could finally feel it. The fire's glow and warmth, she tried to grab hold of it with her hands but they just passed through. She started to get angry at herself and she couldn't help but notice the fire was mirroring her emotions, growing larger despite the lack of any more fuel or a gust of wind. As she calmed down so did the flames.

"Xiao Fung, look. I got it. See?"

Xiao Fung, who had taken to hopping around the clearing and knocking down trees at irregular intervals, came over to investigate Jade's progress and nodded, "Very well done Jade, now I want you to sit there and extinguish the flames, then determine if you can sense any flames in the surrounding area."

Jade smiled, "No problem, watch me get this right away."

Jade looked at the flames and meditated, keeping her focus on the flame, drawing it down until it flickered weakly on the coals and imagined she was blowing them out like candles on a birthday cake. The flames on the fire winked out and only a small of smoke rose up. The first part taken care of, Jade then tried to use her new sense to feel any fire in the area. Jade felt like she could sense everything around her in the clearing but no flames were revealing themselves like this. If only she could move around but Xiao Fung had been adamant that she stay here while she was doing this.

Remembering the time had used the sheep talisman, Jade tried to exit her body with her spirit but sadly that didn't appear to be a part of her demon powers. Jade tried extending her sense further in one direction and she felt like she was making some progress even as the rest of her senses became secondary thoughts the vision of the clearing weakened until she might as well have been in a sensory deprivation chamber. The area she was focusing on was extending and stretching it as far as she could, she was still unable to detect anything. Checking each cardinal position, Jade finally felt something to the east but it didn't make much sense. In an area Jade had walked through multiple times picking up firewood was a fire that appeared to be tended to by Hak Fuu. Through the flames, Jade could sense there were others and in fact they were in a building of some sort.

Focused on this detail for a minute and memorizing where the location was, Jade returned her focus back to her body only to find that her body had fallen over and Xiao Fung had a hand wrapped around her. Judging from the crater she resided in, she had been pounded quite a few times. Jade let out a gasp as the pain hit her, Xiao Fung heard the noise and released Jade, "Ah good, it's important to remember Jade that the further you cast your senses the harder it will be to keep track of your own surroundings. Something that is true of all forms of scrying magic so it should only be done in locations where you're in no immediate danger and strongly defended. Otherwise a Chi wizard could just waltz in, capture you, and steal your power from you."

"Couldn't you have just told me that?" Jade coughed.

"I find this method to stick the hardest when teaching difficult students. Besides I didn't do you any lasting harm."

Spitting up blood Jade countered,"Because we're in a dream? Its the only thing that makes sense to me." Jade croaked at Xiao Fung.

Jade blinked and found that she was still lying on the hard surface of the truck with Xiao Fung beside her. Only this time she was uninjured if a little sore from laying in the same position for what she assumed had been days. "Well done Jade, you have grasped the most basic part of Chi magic, accessing your own chi. Like I said to you earlier, for most chi wizards it takes them years to access their own chi, in the meantime they must rely on Chi that has been infused in to their own particular artifact by their masters and the world around them. Using a string of words to focus that power to perform magic according to their desires, a Chi Wizard can do much, shields, barriers, and wards for those focused on defense and blasts and bolts for those focused on striking down the forces of darkness. Eventually gaining access for both types of magic as time passes, time that you really don't have Jade."

"I know that, and I was really hoping that you would get around to teaching me how to fight the memories so I can have the time. Can we please get to that now." Jade pointed out.

"Not so fast, I think we both need a little break so first I'll let you have some real sleep." Xiao Fung said.

Jade tried to protest but then it all went dark.

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When Jade opened her eyes, she found herself in a broad clearing, similar to the one that had been the sight of her last training though this one was more real. She could feel the breeze and see it affecting the trees around her though if this was a dream maybe her mind was just providing the sensory information she'd missed before now that she realized she'd missed it. Jade wondered if she was still asleep and briefly considered feeling out for the flame but Hak Fuu near by had her put that plan on hold. Hak Fuu looked as dour as ever, Jade wondered what she was supposed to do next when she got the overwhelming impression to move. Taking advantage of this strange premonition, she leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding Xiao Fung as he fell out of the sky and almost landed on Jade if not for her instincts. "Hey! You almost crushed me there."

Xiao Fung chuckled at that, "Just making sure that you had taken my lesson to heart, you were looking especially vacant at the moment."

But if I'm really awake than that would have seriously hurt me, Jade didn't laugh along with him. Xiao Fung continued, "You wanted to learn about how to protect yourself from the memories. I will first have to see first hand how far you are along by activating one, now associations typically do the trick, so lets see what this gets us. **Croak."**

When Jade heard the noise, felt the rumble shake her bones even as a strong breeze whipped past her leading to the falling sensation of going to that other place, it was stronger than she'd ever experienced it before and like a person that has been repeatedly dunked in to the water Jade panicked and tried to stop it. Grasping on to her chi as a life preserver, she couldn't think of what to do after and that's when she fell completely under.

Coughing and in a dry sweat, Jade opened her eyes to see that she was now on a wide open plain with no sign of any structure or cover as far as the eye could see. Jade couldn't see anyone and she wondered what she was supposed to do when a green blur was rushing to her fast as a bullet train. Letting out a cry, she crouched down, and by some miracle she wasn't hit. Looking up Jade's relief shattered as she saw Shendu had stopped with in spitting distance of Jade. He appeared agitated and was sniffing at the air like the whole land stunk, curious Jade did the same and could smell the the recognizable scent of cow patties.

Jade found herself looking for the source as well, but it was difficult to really pin down. Like Shendu's shadow, Jade followed the demon towards his target when a frog's croak caused them both to step back even as the wind picked up at an amazing rate and threatened to push the two back. Jade was able to use Shendu as a wind block as he crouched down to a more stable footing. The wind settled down and Jade was grateful to see Xiao Fung. Crossing her arms in front of her, "Well look who decided to show up. One of my unhelpful brothers."

Xiao Fung didn't look as pleased with her presence, "You are not allowed to be here, I told that to your messengers. Was I not clear about that fact?"

No, this wasn't the Xiao Fung she wanted, this one was just Shendu's memory. He couldn't protect her and once this scene played itself out, Jade would have no place to run or hide fast enough from her demon, "You were perfectly clear, but what I desire is here. If you give it to me than I will not disturb this site any further? Surely that is not to much to ask from a brother?"

Xiao Fung's body lowered itself to the ground in anticipation of a spring, "I will not ask you again nor will I cater to your obsession with the talismans. Leave now unharmed or with your arms and legs broken, the choice is up to you."

Jade hoped to get out of here while the two fought but her body continued acting as Shendu's shadow, her mouth spoke the same words as the demon, and she was frightened. Jade was charging at Xiao Fung with the speed of the Rabbit Talisman only to come to a stop as a second Xiao Fung leapt out of the air and crashed in to the dragon toppling him and Jade found herself free to move on her own again. Feeling like a marionette with its strings cut, Jade fell to the ground and tried to regain her strength in front of the the three demons she now found herself surrounded by.

"Now Jade, calm the flames!" Jade used her sense to determine that Shendu had a massive amount of fire chi within him and found that she could control it. It was slow but Jade caused Shendu's flames to weaken and his struggles against Xiao Fung became more frantic even as the hold became more firm.

"You dare interfere in my rebirth Xiao Fung!" Shendu spat his venomous words, but the wind demon paid him no heed, breaking Shendu's arm so that it bent the wrong way and drawing forth a cry of pain. Xiao Fung seemed quite pleased with all of this until, the first Xiao Fung whispered something in to Shendu's ear and Jade found she could hear it as well even though it was as quiet as a whisper.

Jade screamed at the memory Xiao Fung along with Shendu, "Traitor!"

Distracted, the power within Shendu exceeded Jade's ability to suppress and looked near to breaking free from Xiao Fung's hold as well. Grimacing, the real Xiao Fung snapped Shendu's neck causing the world to fill with a dark mist as the sun went out. Jade opened her eyes and was standing in front of Xiao Fung in the clearing with Hak Fu hadn't made a move, his bored expression quite clear.

Feeling a migraine coming on, Jade clutched her head and then it passed as quickly as it had come. Wanting to get to the training even more now, Jade looked at Xiao Fung expectantly, "So are we going to start on my lesson?"

"We are already finished Jade. Some short term memory loss is going to happen, but don't worry I'm sure that you'll remember it the next time you go under. After experiencing that with you I see that your protection was superficial, at best. Shendu's power has continued to grow within you even as you managed to hold on to your own strength. It allowed you to run and hide but you can not truly escape something that is inside you.

"Now lets move on to showing you some things that will make you a worthy of the title Demon Sorcerer."

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As the days passed, Jade got into a regular routine going in to the woods practicing her meditation to strengthen her control over the flames as Xiao Fung ordered her what to do with them. After the first few hours were over, and a light lunch was eaten, Xiao Fung had Jade run along a path, that had been marked out by Hak Fuu through the woods and regularly changed.

Jade found the training unpleasant as she was told to feel the wind, just like how she had felt the flame before. Jade would run down the path, losing track of her senses as she tried to feel the wind and painfully crash in to a tree and find herself several hundred yards off the marked path. The first time kind of hurt, so did the seventh, the twenty-sixth, the third, and the eighth, and the fourth. Jade was pretty sure she'd lost track of how many times she'd actually crashed but it was sort of hard to focus.

Bruised, battered, and exhausted, Jade continued at it till she was able to stay on the track only for Xiao Fung's test to become even harder as Hak Fuu would chase after her, cut across the course to ambush her, and lay pitfalls and snares to keep her from completing the course in the time that Xiao Fung demanded. Jade found the course grow even more difficult as her her claws became webbed and instead of sweating she produced a slime that was keeping her cool but also horribly staining her clothes. This training pushed her to the limits of even her inhuman body and when the day was over, all three would return to the hideout and sleep.

It was a small comfort that Jade's body didn't ache by the time she woke up in the morning, her natural regeneration healing the damage to her body. Jade made little progress in picking up Xiao Fung's teaching when it came to the wind, but what he was able to teach her concerning some basic charms to control the fire, to create it, and to speak through it came to her easily. The training was very different from what she had expected and challenged her both physically and mentally yet Jade found herself enjoying it. As the days ticked down that Xiao Fung had set aside for teaching, Jade felt the stress build because she knew that once Xiao Fung left, she would once again find herself in front of the imprisoned Demon Sorcerers when she fell asleep. Her success at keeping one of them out sure to be tempered by their own irritation and impatience over still being imprisoned.

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The last day of training, after a fight with Hak Fuu on the course and narrowly avoiding a pit fall Jade found herself able to feel the wind. Unlike the fire chi which was contained in one spot, Jade could feel the wind floating through the woods all over the place. Ecstatic, Jade completed the course with her best time ever.

"Well done Jade, you have an amazing talent and skill but I have no more time to spend with you. Tonight I will be leaving."

Realizing her time with the Demon Sorcerer of Wind had ended, Jade took stock of the things that had happened to her, she now looked more beast than girl like a brown salamander that while only four feet high would measure closer to six from the tip of her nose to her long tail. Jade's mouth had grown a little too wide, seeming to extend into her cheekbones and all but the hair on top of her head had fallen out. The only concession to her lost humanity that Jade clung on to now were the clothes Valmont had sent Ratso and Finn to get for her, a couple sets of black t-shirts and shorts to change into every day. Jade had been forced to rip the seat off the shorts to accommodate her tail near the end as her body stabilized. Desperate for one last lesson Jade asked, "Any chance you can make me look human?"

Xiao Fung considered the request, "No, I know of a spell that you could cast on yourself but you are still to weak to properly maintain it."

"Please," Jade dragged the word out, begging.

"Alright, but be warned that the spell will only last as long as you concentrates on it. It can not be maintained while asleep and holding it for long periods will be exhausting. Here is your final lesson."

Xiao Fung goes through the steps before giving her a live demonstration and turns human, dressed in a purple suit. Jade managed to pull it off after a half hours practice and now she looked completely normal, her eyes even back to their original color and when she looked in the side view mirror of the van she could have wept.

By now the sun was beginning to set, "Goodbye Jade. I do not expect to ever see you again Sister."

Jade got still at that and wiped the tears from her eyes,"You think I'm going to lose to Shendu."

Xiao Fung nodded, "As it stands now, the outcome is inevitable. Fulfill your responsibility and free the others, perhaps they will teach you enough to survive, as for me it's time that I find out what I can of this world. What has changed and what has stayed the same."

Jade watched him go and hoped that she wouldn't regret the consequences.


End file.
